Warnock: "Our travelling fans have been pretty special this year."

On Thursday morning, Neil Warnock held a pre-match press conference ahead of the Bluebirds' trip to Birmingham City this Friday.

Birmingham have recently appointed their new boss, Steve Cotterill, and suffered a 6-1 defeat to Hull City in their last outing. Nevertheless, Neil is expecting a tough game, comparing our opposition with City at this time last year.

"I look at it very much like when I arrived twelve months ago," he began. "We were playing Bristol City on the television. We were second-from-bottom and they were third-from-top, flying high. We had three days to prepare, but [Birmingham] have had two weeks. So, I'm expecting a very difficult game. 

"We're looking forward to it and it'll be a great atmosphere on television. I do like floodlights - I think it's more exciting when you turn up at the stadium and are coming out of the tunnel. The next five games will decide a lot in our season really... But where we are now is all credit to the boys."

The Gaffer also commented on the exploits of the Bluebirds' internationals over the break, including Iceland's historic FIFA World Cup qualification under skipper, Aron Gunnarsson.

"We're just waiting on Bruno [Ecuele Manga] and Neil Etheridge," he continued. "Gunnarsson came back yesterday. Turkey was the biggest game for them, and he didn't want to let them down. He played 64 minutes, or something like that. The second game roughly the same. I was slightly disappointed that at 2-0 up against a team with one point, he didn't come off at half-time.

"But as Jeppo [Ronnie Jepson] and Blackwell said, it's the biggest game in their history; he's the captain. So, I see their point of view really. It's such a fantastic achievement - [Iceland's population] is 335,000 or something like that - not as big as Cardiff. To get to the World Cup Finals is fantastic. He's back now, but we haven't breathalysed him yet, so we'll have to see about that [laughs]."

Finally, the City boss was questioned about City's place at the top of the Sky Bet Championship table, as he explained that he doesn't feel any added pressure.

"We've got quite good experience around the place," the Gaffer added. "We've got a few inexperienced ones, but the likes of Rallsy, who's coming in now, I think he's older than me some days! We've brought fresh legs in as well, and Bryson's done very well for us.

"I don't think there's any expectations on us. We don't have to worry about that, as I don't think our fans expected anything other than 'can we try and get in the Play-Offs?'. I won't let anyone get carried away - not even our fans. I don't mind them dreaming, but not getting carried away. Our travelling fans have been pretty special this year. Everyone is on song, and the fans are enjoying it.

"I don't see any pressure. I said to our lot: 'let's enjoy it while we're there - don't let's worry about where we are'."