Celebration time for the Bluebirds. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Chairman Talks Bluebirds Signings, Solskjaer, Survival

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Bluebirds chairman Mehmet Dalman confirmed the Premier League club are aiming to bring in ‘three or four’ new signings during the January transfer window.

On the day Cardiff City were thumped 5-1 by Manchester United, Dalman said: “We are focused on what we need to do.

“We would like to bring in three or four players, although our search for a striker is not so far going as well as we would like.

“Neil Warnock is the best manager we have had during my time at Cardiff City and we work closely together. Look at our team, we are not that far away.

“Yes, a little bit more quality is needed and we can bring that in during January.”

Dalman also talked about new United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, giving the BBC his thoughts on a manager who was in charge of Cardiff when they were relegated from the top flight four years ago.

“I’m so happy for him to be appointed Manchester United manager,” he said. “Ole is a great guy who is United through and through.

“He is a super chap. It could not have happened to a nicer bloke.

“At the time he came to Cardiff it was the right decision to appoint him. The end result was that we parted company, but there have never been any hard feelings.

“He is a gentleman to the end.”

Solskjaer was beaming in the away dug-out at Cardiff City Stadium. His team played with an enthusiasm which had away fans celebrating wildly.

He told BT Sport: “Football is easy if you have good players. They are such a great bunch and their quality is unbelievable.

“All that advice I got on text from Wazza [Wayne Rooney] was useful. He told us to enjoy our football, smile and be Man United. It’s been a tough week for them, a tough week for me.

“Even though it was enjoyable, there was a lot of things swirling round our heads. The players responded fantastically.

“We had a little session about patterns of play, Luke supporting Anthony and that worked well.

“The foundation was our centre backs.”

England international Lingard scored twice and he said: “We played with a lot of energy and excitement. The midfield played higher, the full-backs played higher and we pegged Cardiff back.”

Solskjaer, looking relaxed and confident, said: “Our reaction after Cardiff’s goal from a penalty was brilliant.

“Winning against Cardiff is a great start,” said Solskjaer. “There are things to work on, but the players grasped many of our ideas quickly.

“I enjoyed my first few days since taking over and I’m determined to give it everything over the next four or five months.”

His family fly into the UK from Norway on Sunday, although he admitted that plans for them to spend Christmas with his parents have had to be abandoned.

Paul Pogba. Pic: Getty Images.

Bluebirds manager Neil Warnock described the home defeat against United as ‘embarrassing’, but he had words of praise Kenneth Zohore, saying: “He has been really good over the last three weeks, setting standards like he did last season.

“Kenneth looked sharp, has an appetite to succeed and all credit to him.”

The visitors won comfortably in front of a sell-out 33,000-plus attendance thanks to goals from Jesse Lingard (2), Rashford, Ander Herrera and Anthony Martial, giving new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a five-star welcome back at United.

Owner Vincent Tan flew in to watch the game and before kick-off went on a stroll around the pitch, handing out gifts to young supporters.

There was a terrific atmosphere in the build-up to kick-off, but this was a day when United could not be contained.

City now face back-to-back away fixtures at Crystal Palace and Leicester, while Solskjaer’s men are at home against Huddersfield on Boxing Day and then Bournemouth.

Warnock’s warrior are still outside the relegation places with Fulham, Huddersfield and Burnley below them and the manager said: “If you’d told me at the start of the season that we would be outside the bottom three at Christmas, I would have snapped your hand off. 

“We have to take the positives.”

“There are two tough away games to come for us, at Palace and Leicester.

“We must do everything we can to earn away points. I’m looking forward to two good game, and I know our fans will back us until the end.”

Warnock admitted Rashford’s opening goal, scored after only three minutes, was a major blow.

“Conceding at that stage was tough,” he said.

“That knocked us down and before we knew it we were two down. We came back well, but if we concede goals like we did then we won’t win games.

“I wasn’t disappointed by the effort shown today, we were playing against a top side with a new manager.

“On the plus side the crowd were up for it and at 2-1, even at 3-1, I thought we had a chance, if we could have scored the first goal after half-time it might have changed things.”

 

This was the first time United have scored five goals in a Premier League game since manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game in charge – a 5-5 draw against West Brom in May 2013.

Paul Pogba played with quality and a freedom which made him a joy to watch and there was an attacking fluency to a United team who looked as though they were enjoying themselves again.

Solskjaer, it seems, has had a major effect on everybody at Old Trafford fun the short time since he returned to the club.

Cardiff City: Neil Etheridge, Bruno Manga, Sean Morrison (capt), Sol Bamba, Greg Cunningham, Aron Gunnarsson (Joe Ralls 83), Harry Arter (Kenneth Zohore 61), Victor Camarasa, Junior Hoilett (Kadeem Harris 74), Josh Murphy, Callum Paterson. Subs not used: Lee Peltier, Alex Smithies (gk), Bobby Decordova-Reid, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.

Manchester United: De Gea, Young, Jones, Lindelöf, Shaw, Herrera, Matic (Fellaini 87), Pogba, Lingard, Rashford (Fred 79), Martial (Pereira 87). Subs not used: Bailly, Mata, Dalot, Romero.

Referee: Michael Oliver

Attendance: 33,028

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