Bulut pre-Leeds United | We're prepared for the challenge

Ahead of this weekend’s 2023/24 Sky Bet Championship opener against Leeds United, Erol Bulut spoke at a press conference at Cardiff City Stadium.

Addressing the press on Thursday afternoon, the City boss began by reflecting on the pre-season that he has enjoyed at the helm, as he awaits a big away challenge to kick off his first campaign with the Bluebirds.

“I think that we had a good pre-season with the team,” began Erol. “We played nine friendly matches and generally we’re satisfied with what we got from them.

"We’ve got six new players in also; some of them have come in a little bit later, so they’re still adapting to the team. But as I said, I’m satisfied with the pre-season, and on Sunday we’ll be ready for the first game.

“So far, we’re happy with the transfers that we’ve made. It’s not been easy to make some of these happen, but we’ve managed to work quickly to make these work, which has been good for us.

“I think we are good enough that we can handle the challenge really well. Of course, we’ve got six new players so maybe we will need a few games, but I hope that at the end we will be in the position where we want to be."

Discussing the opening day trip to Elland Road, Erol shared his excitement at the prospect of starting the season in front of a sold-out away end at Elland Road.

“I’ve read that the stadium will be full on Sunday, which is perfect. It will be difficult playing against Leeds; at home they play well and are strong with their fans behind them.

"They’re recently relegated from the Premier League so have a strong team. I think that we’ll have a good game on Sunday and hope to take the points that we need. We’re prepared for the challenge.

“Two thousand of our supporters is a good number, and we need them. Of course, at home they’re always great at supporting us, and it will be good to have them with us at Leeds. We want to make them happy after the game.”

Erol provided an injury update on members of the First Team squad, with Romaine Sawyers returning to training this week following extended international duty and a minor knee injury.

“Yakou, Macca, Joe Ralls and Rubin Colwill have all been in training this week, so I think – and hope – that they will be with us at Leeds.

"Ryan Allsop got a small injury in our last friendly match, so it’s looking like he will not be with us this weekend. Jak Alnwick will be good in goal with us and will handle it well.”

Watch more from Erol, Joe Ralls and Callum O'Dowda on Cardiff City TV.