By Gareth James
Cardiff City manager Sabri Lamouchi hopes the laughing gas joke will end up on Blackpool and their former Bluebirds boss Mick McCarthy.
Lamouchi has not seen the funny side over Connor Wickham’s nitrous oxide video but won’t stop the Frenchman from picking his striker to face Blackpool on Good Friday.
Former Premier League striker Wickham was seen in a video posted on social media in the wake of Cardiff’s agonising 3-2 derby defeat to Swansea City singing, dancing and inhaling from a balloon in a car.
Cardiff City star Connor Wickham 'inhales laughing gas' hours after Swansea defeat https://t.co/K7U6TDFTcI pic.twitter.com/p4Bwa7DmGn
— WalesOnline 🏴 (@WalesOnline) April 2, 2023
Wickham was with friends celebrating his 30th birthday from the day before, while City fans had their heads in their hands after a 99th minute winner from Ben Cabango robbed them of any points.
“He was absolutely stupid. It was bad, and came in a bad moment,” said Bluebirds boss Lamouchi.
“I spoke to him, and he was devastated and sorry. He has apologised to the players, the club and the fans publicly and also to the players in the locker room.
“I told him we have a lot of problems to manage, so I don’t need any more problems to create any more tension because we have only one goal and that is to save the club and play in the Championship next season.”
Cardiff City are investigating a video which appears to show Connor Wickham inhaling laughing gas from a balloon ⚽️#BBCFootball
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) April 3, 2023
But with top scorer Callum Robinson now likely to miss the rest of the season with his hamstring injury, and Kion Etete ruled out, Lamouchi will need a fit and firing Wickham to finally deliver a goal or two for his latest club to try to lift them nearer to safety.
“We are where we are for many reasons. We have made many mistakes and Connor’s was a big mistake,” added Lamouchi.
“It is up to the club to decide if they take any sanctions. It was a bad image for the club, but he didn’t do anything illegal.
“If what he did wasn’t legal then you kill yourself and you face the consequences. It was a terrible weekend, but more with the scenario with Swansea than the other things.
“He’s not so young and what he was doing was dangerous for him and for the image of the club. He needs to manage that.”
Mick McCarthy looks ahead to the Easter Weekend double-header against Cardiff City and Luton Town on 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐕.
🍊 #UTMP
— Blackpool FC (@BlackpoolFC) April 6, 2023
With eight games to go this season, Cardiff are sitting just above the bottom three on goal difference only and inhaling anxiety.
Two of the three teams below them, Huddersfield and Blackpool, are managed by former Cardiff bosses in Neil Warnock and McCarthy.
If McCarthy’s Tangerines can beat the Bluebirds then that would throw them a lifeline and cut the gap to safety to a single point.
Lamouchi’s men still have to host Huddersfield and head to Rotherham, who are two points ahead of them.
“A positive result for us in Blackpool will be fantastic. A positive result for Blackpool will be fantastic for them, but not disastrous for us,” said Lamouchi.
“It is another game, another battle and another story. We’ve just got to move on.”
