Danny Ward believes super-slim Lee Tomlin can give Cardiff City extra helpings of goals to fuel the club’s December surge.
The Bluebirds visits Brentford on Tuesday night with Tomlin having helped inspire his team to move to the fringes of the Championship promotion race.
Tomlin lost almost two stones in weight in an effort to convince former manager Neil Warnock he was worthy of more than odd treats of opportunity.
But it has taken the arrival of Neil Harris for Tomlin to find a boss who trusts his talent and he rewarded that faith by setting up Ward’s equaliser against Barnsley last weekend before firing a wonderful 95th minute winner.
“We all know what Tommo is capable of,” said Ward who came off the bench to score and make it three successive victories for the Bluebirds under Harris.
“Give him the ball and opportunities and he will create chances and score goals. He’s brilliant to play with.
“When you make that run, nine times out of 10 he is going to find you. He played a perfect ball for me and all I had to do was put it away.
“But he’s a player who needs to play games every week, and now he’s getting that chance he is providing opportunities for us.
“I was surprised he didn’t get many chances before. Technically, he is one of the best I’ve played with, so it’s good to see him back in the team and doing well.”
Cardiff have moved from mid-table meandering to a lurking presence on the edge of the play-off places after taking 10 points from Harris’s four games in charge.
Ward pinpoints tougher training sessions as the springboard for their resurgence and added: “We were a fit group of lads anyway, but you can always be fitter and training has been raised up another notch. It’s been really good.”
After three successive victories, Harris has urged his team to keep the momentum going over the next few matches if they are to match the pace being set by the leading teams in the division.
“That is a challenge when you look at Leeds and West Brom, how good they are and when you look at Fulham behind them and teams that have been more consistent than us over the season,” said Harris.
“I think we have had a good four games with 10 points. We are really proud of that and really pleased with the impact so far, but the next four to six games are really going to challenge us.
“Neil obviously has faith in the squad he has built. I see the players every day now, they are good players.
“It’s finding that consistency for them, obviously that shift in mentality from when I took over the team that wasn’t winning, got them back winning.
“But consistently winning isn’t done just over a four-game period, it’s done over eight, 10, 12 games.”