http://www.skysports.com/football/ne...r-neil-warnock
Cardiff City are pushing Wolves hard in the race for promotion to the Premier League as Neil Warnock continues to work wonders in Wales. Adam Bate caught up with popular defender Bruno Manga to discuss the team's good form...
"The difference is the team spirit," Bruno Manga tells Sky Sports. "So many things have changed with the manager, the team and everyone here." That is an understatement.
This time last year Cardiff City were scrapping around in the Championship relegation zone - literally in the case of Sol Bamba, sent off in the 1-1 draw at Ipswich on December 10th 2016 for confronting the referee, the fourth official and even his own manager.
Twelve months on and Neil Warnock has channelled this fighting spirit in a rather more productive way. A win over Reading on Monday night would move Cardiff six points clear of third-placed Bristol City and just two behind much-lauded leaders Wolves.
Many are surprised that the veteran Warnock finds himself in with a shot of the record eighth promotion that he has long craved, but the signs were there. And not just in the results during the second half of last season as he lifted Cardiff into the top half of the table.
Cardiff did good business in the summer with the success of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, a free transfer signing from Rochdale, typical of Warnock's ability to find gems in the lower leagues. Other such as the vastly talented Junior Hoilett have been rejuvenated.
But perhaps the most significant signing of the summer came in June when Cardiff managed to persuade Manga to extend his stay at the club. A £5m arrival in 2014, he had been the club's player of the year in his first season but things had not run so smoothly since then.
There was even a bout of malaria during his second season in South Wales and when Manga was injured on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Gabon this past January, the initial fears were that his expiring contract meant his Cardiff career was all but over.
"I came back quickly but it was very hard," he explains. "It was very difficult last year." Warnock openly admitted that he had lined up a replacement after talks with Manga's agent stalled. Instead, the player took a pay cut and agreed a new deal.
"Just because the manager wanted me," says the 28-year-old defender when asked to explain the reasons for his unexpected decision. "He wanted me to stay so I was happy. I was happy with Cardiff as a city and a club so I wanted to stay."
He had remained a favourite with fans. "They are very important," he says of the supporters. "When they encourage us and get behind us on and off the pitch, there is an obligation to play well for them." But Cardiff needed something more than that and Warnock has provided it.
They do not have Wolves' star names but that did not stop them winning at Molineux and, as Manga notes, nobody can rival their spirit. It has been a team effort - Warnock's men are the only side in the Championship to have six players score three or more goals this season.
Manga describes a coach who "notices things with every player" - even things he didn't see in himself. The powerful centre-back has been asked to adapt to a new role at right-back. "It is a very difficult because I have never played there in my career," he explains.
"It is completely different playing at full-back. It is a completely different way of defending. But I don't have a choice at the moment because we have so many injuries so I have to play there. It was difficult at first but I am starting to get used to it and now I am enjoying it."
Manga has made more combined tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes than any other defender in the Championship. "I like the tackles," he laughs. "I am feeling good when I have so many battles in the game." It works. He is part of the best defence in the Championship.
"That is very important if we want to get to the Premier League," he says. "We have to be focused. The goal is to keep winning. We are going to take it match by match. The important thing is to win matches and then we will see where we are at the end of the season."
So can they do it? That, of course, was the plan when he joined back in 2014. "It is important for the club and important for me too because when I came to Cardiff I came to go to the Premier League," he adds.
"I hope that this year we will be better. I am feeling good. We have had a good start as a team and good results. Wolves are a very good team but we are second and we are quite close behind and we are looking to capitalise on any mistakes that they make." They have the chance at Reading on Monday.
