Jesper Daland spoke to the press ahead of our Sky Bet Championship clash with Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon.
The centre-back joined the Bluebirds this summer from Cercle Brugge K.S.V. and began by reflecting on his time in the Welsh capital so far.
“It’s been good. It took some time for me to settle in, but I’m really settled now. The people are really nice, really friendly, not just people in the Club, but people I meet around the city. I’m liking it a lot so far.
“It’s a very nice city. I think when you have nice people around you when you’re moving or coming to a new place, it always makes it a lot easier. People within the Club, the staff, players, everyone has been brilliant with me in terms of helping me.
“I think the first time was in January, I heard there was some interest. I finished the season in Belgium, came back in pre-season and talks started going. I had good conversations with the Club, everything went pretty smoothly. It was something that I really found exciting and thought would really suit me. I’m happy that it happened in the end.
“Since I was a kid, I always dreamed of playing in the UK. Football here is so big. I love the atmosphere, the way people speak about football, the style of football that is played here, it’s something I’ve always wanted. When I got the chance, I was really happy.”
City head into this Saturday on the back of a 2-2 draw against Stoke City this past weekend, in which the Bluebirds produced an encouraging away performance.
Jesper continued: “There are a lot of new faces in the squad, me included, and sometimes it can take time. I’m in every day and can see the quality we have in the squad, I really do. I know the ambitions of the squad, so I’m pretty calm about everything.
“When we’re at a level we know we can be at, we’re really good. We’re pushing really hard in training and hopefully we can be a bit more consistent than we have been. We want to be better, we want the results to be better, but we’re working hard and in the end we will look back and it will be a good season.
"You can see the level in training, the size of the squad and there’s so many [players], it’s good competition for the spots, which is great. I think we need to push each other, help each other, so there are many players that have impressed me since I arrived here."
Saturday's opponents have impressed so far this campaign, currently sitting at the top of the Sky Bet Championship table, having recorded a 2-0 win over Plymouth Argyle last time out.
"They are amongst the top teams, they have been doing really well," Jesper added. "It will be a tough challenge for us, but also a good challenge. I think I can just speak for myself that those are the games you want to play, the toughest games, the toughest opponents.
"I think it’s a great game, I think everyone in the locker room is looking forward to Saturday. It’s a good chance for us to show what we can do. We know it’s a tough challenge, but if we take stuff with us from the weekend, I think we can make problems for them.
"In Belgium, we had a break, but for me coming here, I remember when I was younger watching on Boxing Day, it's a tradition here, so I'm looking forward to it. Obviously, it's a busy period and a lot of games, but at the same time, that's exactly what you want."