Cardiff City

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Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut remains no closer to signing a new contract with the club.

Bulut joined on a one-year deal last summer and, with only nine games left this season, has not started talks with the Bluebirds about extending his stay.

The former Fenerbahce boss has said on more than one occasion he is keen to remain - but is uncertain about his future.

"I cannot make a decision because it’s not in my hands," Bulut said.

"The plans the club should make for the new season - transfers, pre-season and things like that - we haven’t had any meetings in that direction.

“I would like to stay, of course, and continue to build with the players.

"When we look back to the start of the season and now, there has been big progress. Normally we should continue with that but this is not up to me. From my side, it’s clear.”

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Former Cardiff and Swansea defender Steven Caulker says the South Wales derby is spoken about “all around the UK”.

Caulker played for both Welsh sides and scored the winning goal in the fixture for the Bluebirds in 2013.

“It’s a game everyone wants to watch. I remember playing in League One at Yeovil and the south Wales derby was taking place and everyone on the bus was checking the score, everyone was shouting out who’s scored and who hasn’t and who they’re predicting to win the game, so it is something that’s spoken about all around the UK and it’s a game which I’m very much looking forward to watching this weekend,” Caulker said.

“In the south Wales derby [in 2013], we played in the Premier League at home in Cardiff for the first game, the atmosphere was intense but I actually felt there were quite a lot of nerves around the stadium in all honesty.

“Our first season in the Premier League, there was lots of excitement, lots of hope for the year that lie ahead, but that particular game I just remember it being really tense until I scored. The place just erupted and then it was back to the pressure of ‘can we hold on?’

“There was similar kind of eruption at the final whistle, there was definitely a different atmosphere to other games in the sense that there were a lot nerves. It’s a game that neither side wants to lose”.

Caulker played every game of Cardiff City’s 2013-14 season in the top flight and played on loan at Swansea from Tottenham in the Swans' first Premier League campaign in 2011-12.

But the former England international says his time in west Wales made his derby goal celebration more muted than usual.

“I’ve still got my man of the match award upstairs, I treasure it. It was a special, special moment. It was slightly strange in the sense that I’d scored in the derby, but I couldn’t celebrate, I still had a lot of respect for Swansea," Caulker added.

“I instantly put my arm in the air because I’d just scored a goal and then realised it’s against Swansea. I put my arm down and ran over to Craig Bellamy and had a fairly mild celebration, but definitely the feeling was unbelievable .

“I’m going to go for a draw [this weekend] and I’m not just saying that to sit on the fence. Cardiff are coming in to it in better form, but Swansea are the home side and I expect to see a couple of goals. I’m going to go for 2-2”.

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Cardiff City will be aiming to create history in Saturday's south Wales derby away at Swansea City.

Neither team had managed a league double in the first 111 years of this fixture, before Swansea claimed the first in 2022 and repeated the trick last season.

This time, Cardiff are hoping to claim their first double having outplayed their arch rivals to win the reverse encounter 2-0 last September.

"It’s a big incentive [the double]," said Ralls.

"It’s a unique, one-off game. We had that feeling in the first game.

"This game can be a springboard for the rest of the season. We are fully motivated."

Ralls is also glad to be coming into this fixture with Cardiff in a more settled state than they have been in recent years.

Erol Bulut will be the first Cardiff manager since Dave Jones during the 2010-11 season to manage the Bluebirds in two league derbies in the same campaign.

"It’s great to have consistency with the manager," Ralls added.

"We have had a great season with the manager. Having that consistency is big."

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The stakes are always high when it comes to the South Wales derby, especially for managers.

Because the last decade of meetings between Swansea City and Cardiff City have shown it is not just bragging rights on the line for bosses in this fixture – it is their jobs.

A remarkable statistic circulated on social media this week, pointing out that Erol Bulut will become the first Cardiff manager to take charge of both derby fixtures in a season since the days of Dave Jones.

But the derby dugout quirk goes further, showing that the last 11 managers to have lost this fixture have not been in place by the time the next derby comes around.

And again you have to go back to Jones’ time in charge of the Bluebirds for the last boss to have been beaten in a derby and still be in the job for the return match.

That came in November 2010 when Marvin Emnes’ goal inflicted a home defeat on Cardiff, only for a Jones-led side to get revenge at the Liberty Stadium three months later via a Craig Bellamy beauty.

Brendan Rodgers was the Swans boss that day but had left for Liverpool by the time the teams renewed rivalries in the Premier League in 2013.

And so the derby ‘curse’ continued with Michael Laudrup and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both losing games and being removed from their posts by the time the sides met again in the Championship in 2019.

There, Swansea wins under Steve Cooper saw both Neil Warnock and Neil Harris depart before the next fixture rolled around - with a goalless draw in between providing a stay of execution.

And when Cooper’s Swans were upset at home by Mick McCarthy’s Bluebirds, the Welshman had moved on before McCarthy’s trip west the following season.

The man who replaced Cooper, Russell Martin, then proceeded to oversee four straight derby wins against four different Cardiff managers, with McCarthy, Steve Morison, Mark Hudson and Sabri Lamouchi all only managing one derby each.

And while Martin left the fixture unbeaten when he joined Southampton, the curse continued when Michael Duff lasted 11 weeks after a comfortable Cardiff win last September following Bulut’s arrival.

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Saturday marks Luke Williams' turn to try out just how high the stakes are, although he has sampled the passions as part of Martin’s victorious coaching staff.

Meanwhile Bulut has the chance to engineer a first ever Cardiff double in the fixture – something that would no doubt add to the voices backing him for a new contract beyond the summer.

But if history is anything to go by, if there is a winner on Saturday, only one will be around by the next time the South Wales rivals go head to head.

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No matter what happens in Saturday’s south Wales derby, Erol Bulut has made his point at Cardiff City – having already bettered last season’s total.

And they are a whisker away from guaranteeing a better return than the campaign before that.

In fact, the Bluebirds' recent resurgent form has put Bulut’s side in with a chance of their best points return since winning promotion to the Premier League under Neil Warnock.

Back in 2018, Warnock’s winners finished on an impressive 90 points to go up behind champions Wolves – and with nine games to play were some 14 points ahead of where Cardiff’s class of 2024 stand now.

But Saturday’s win over Ipswich Town has taken their current tally to 53 points – four points more than they mustered last term when they finished just a place above the relegation zone.

And it is already level with the 53 they accrued in the 2021-22 season under Mick McCarthy and Steve Morison.

The next yardstick will be the 2020-21 season, when Cardiff finished eighth on 68 points.

That was the year in which there had been worries of being dragged into a relegation fight before Neil Harris was replaced by McCarthy.

Bulut’s team would have to pick up a further 15 points from their nine remaining games to reach that marker.

But what of the last Cardiff side to reach the play-offs? That came in the Covid-affected 2019-20 season when Harris replaced Warnock in November, finishing the season on 73 points. Getting to that total would mean Cardiff picking up an eye-catching 2.22 points per game from now until May.

Interestingly, though, Cardiff are currently only one point further back than Harris’ side were at the same stage of that season.

Back then they went into the final 10 matches still five points off the top six, winning seven of their last ten fixtures to secure a place in the play-offs.

It would take a similarly impressive run to match that feat but, regardless, beating the past two sorry seasons suggests progress is being made at Cardiff City Stadium.

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Cardiff City showed against Ipswich they aren’t ready to give up on their season, according to former striker Nathan Blake.

The Bluebirds’ winter form – including a run of five defeats in six – had seemingly wiped out any hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs.

But Saturday’s comeback win over Ipswich, their fourth victory in succession, has left Erol Bulut’s side five points outside the top six with nine games remaining.

Ex-Wales frontman Blake, speaking on BBC Radio Wales Sport, had been sceptical of the chances of a late surge to the play-offs given the manner of recent performances.

But he was heartened by captain Ryan Wintle’s pre-match claims of not wanting the season to "peter out" – and says they backed it up against the top two chasing Tractor Boys.

“We say it so many times - it’s about confidence,” said Blake on how Cardiff managed to produce one of their best performances of the season to re-ignite top-six hopes.

“I heard Ryan Wintle before the game saying he didn’t want their season to fizzle out - and that’s how they played.

“They played like they know there’s a small gap in the window, a little chink of light, and have said to themselves ‘why not have a go and see where it takes us?’”

Cardiff had impressed enough before a goal from former Bluebird Kieffer Moore looked to have put Ipswich on course for their seventh straight win, only for Wintle and Callum O’Dowda to strike deep into injury time.

Blake added: “It would have been easy after going behind to say we’ve done well against a side who are flying, all the excuses were there for them, but they stuck to their chance and got the winner in the 110th minute. It was a Cardiff City performance, a really good performance.”

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Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut hailed the return of Callum O'Dowda after the winger marked his comeback from a long-term injury by scoring a dramatic late winner against Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Republic of Ireland international O'Dowda missed six months of the season with a groin injury before returning as a substitute during last weekend's win at former club Bristol City.

The 28-year-old then popped up with an another fine cameo appearance against Ipswich, scoring an injury-time winner to spark wild celebrations at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I am really glad for him," said Bulut.

"Four months, an injury, then he got injured again and has to prepare.

"His quality, we were never thinking negatively. He is really pushing hard until the end. I am really glad that he scored the winning goal.

"If you have quality around you, you have quality, really good players, football is like this with top teams."

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Manager Erol Bulut says Cardiff City’s confidence is back after they staged a stunning late turnaround to beat Ipswich Town and earn a fourth successive win.

Bulut described Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Championship promotion contenders as maybe Cardiff’s best performance of the season.

The Bluebirds are now unbeaten in five games, having been on a run of only one win from eight matches before then.

“Confidence is very important,” said Bulut.

“When you see a few weeks before, confidence was not good. Players are afraid to make mistakes, this is normal.

“But you can only get it back with fighting, trying things you didn't try before.

“We started with 0-0 against Blackburn, that was key to get confidence back.

“That was important, then we push more, four in a row, now confidence is back.

“The players are in a good way to continue this way. Everyone is believing.”

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says he still looks back with regret at Cardiff's September defeat at Ipswich Town.

The Bluebirds lead by two goals before losing 3-2 and ahead of Ipswich's visit to the Cardiff City Stadium, Bulut admits it is a result that still rankles.

"It was one of the games where we could have taken at least one point," he said. "Ipswich are a team who have many wins in the last 15 minutes. Like against Bristol City, they were quiet up until 2-1 and then they changed the game again. So, we have to be careful with this.

"We have one day less of recovery coming up against them Saturday. We have to recover quickly. It will be a tough game, of course."

Bulut says the Tractor Boys are a good example of a squad that has been well put together.

"They have a good team," he said.

"They have played together for two years with the coach. They have made really good work this season. Every player has settled and helped them, this is important."

Bulut's future is uncertain, with the boss out of contract this summer, but he insists he is not thinking about that.

"For right now, I am thinking only about good results and a good position in the league with Cardiff City," he added.

"There are 10 games more to play, I want to get maximum points. I am not thinking about what will happen tomorrow, I am thinking only about winning games with my team."