Harris pre-Middlesbrough | The atmosphere is unbelievable
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Bluebirds boss Neil Harris held a virtual press conference on Friday afternoon, looking ahead to City’s weekend clash with Middlesbrough.
Following on from Wednesday’s draw with Bournemouth, Harris spoke to the press and media about the need to maintain momentum throughout the current run of fixtures.
“Three games in six days is a very quick turnaround, and with seven games in nineteen days, we’ve been really unfortunate in terms of the schedule.” Neil began. “We have to find ways of being creative, to be as fresh as we can be whilst still getting results.
“We’re in great form, and the lads are really enjoying it. They’ve been great, and the atmosphere at the training ground is unbelievable. I was delighted with the changes we made on Wednesday, which enabled us to get four points from the last two games. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow’s game.”
Saturday’s fixture sees former City manager Neil Warnock return to the Welsh capital, and Harris offered his thoughts on going up against an in-form Boro side.
“What Neil achieved here was class, and we certainly look forward to welcoming him and his staff back to the stadium. The club has had a successful period, and we want to continue that success. We’ve adjusted slightly, and I think we’ve grown as a group. We’ve changed a lot of personnel, and we’re finding our way – you have to evolve all the time.”
He continued, “We have an idea of what to expect from them, and how teams want to play. There are so many people behind the scenes that put in so much time and effort into preparing for games. Neil, Kevin (Blackwell) and Ronnie (Jepson) would have watched us play for the last few games, as I’ve watched them. They know what they’re going to be facing against us, but we will be well prepared for Middlesbrough as well.”
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Finally, the boss provided a general fitness update, after several members of the squad missed Wednesday night’s match against the Cherries, which saw young left-back Joel Bagan make his Championship debut.
“Greg (Cunningham) has had a scan, and he’s going to be out for four to six weeks, so we’re certainly not going to see him before the international break. That’s what we expected, so there’s nothing different with that one. Jordi (Osei-Tutu) and Joe (Bennett) have been back on the grass today, so we have the possibility of one, both, or neither being available tomorrow. We’ll have to see how they react. Lee Tomlin is getting closer, but won’t be ready for tomorrow.”
Neil concluded, “I thought Joel Bagan was excellent on Wednesday. His performance was assured and disciplined. He grew into the game, and got better as it went on. I thought he went from strength to strength, and I have absolutely no concerns about playing Joel in the future. I don’t want to put too much expectations on my players’ shoulders, but we have very high hopes for him at the club.”
