Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Thursday, February 16.
Ng: Lamouchi inspires us
Perry Ng believes Sabri Lamouchi "inspires" Cardiff's players every day on the training pitch with his positive coaching methods.
It's not been the easiest of starts for the Bluebirds under the Frenchman, but they earned their first victory with Lamouchi in the dugout away to Birmingham City on Tuesday.
And when asked how the manager has been behind the scenes, Ng waxed lyrical about his coaching style.
"He's a very positive guy," Ng told WalesOnline. "Every day he gets us pumped up and he inspires us. He is very energetic, which is good.
"On the training pitch, he's very tactical. We've cut playing short and we play in the opposition's half a lot more and put teams under pressure. I think it's working. We just need to build on it now and go into Friday positively.
"We have found the transition OK. At Luton we performed well, we were unlucky, Hull the same. Middlesbrough, they showed their quality.
"We are getting used to it now and we are putting teams under pressure."
Deeney issues statement after racist abuse allegations
Birmingham captain Troy Deeney has issued a statement after the club said he had been subjected to racist abuse by a home supporter after the 2-0 defeat by Cardiff City.
It's alleged that when Deeney made his way off the field at full time, he was racially abused by someone in the home section of the Gil Merrick lower.
The incident was then reported to stewards, and an investigation has now been launched.
And on Thursday, Deeney wrote on social media: "17 years in this game, I’ve developed what I would consider a strong skin…I can take criticism and people coming at me better than most but one thing I refuse to take is racial abuse and for the first time in my career it was done by an individual supporting my own team.
"For it to happen to Neil (Etheridge) a couple of weeks ago and myself last night, it is yet another highlight of the lack of education and quite frankly respect of certain football fans across this country.
"And to anyone that thinks the campaigning that I and others have done over the last few years in regards to racism is pointless or distracting…I ask that you try and understand that to be abused about something you literally have no control over is a feeling NO ONE should ever have to be subject to.
"I’d like to thank the fans that came forward and made it known to the club, it’s good to see there are still people that are able to see right from wrong."
Ince: Cardiff will be buoyant
Reading boss Paul Ince is expecting a tough test when his side come to Cardiff tomorrow.
The Royals are coming off a decent win against Rotherham, against whom they had to come from behind, while Cardiff are also coming into the game off the back of a rare victory.
“Any game for us at the moment is going to be a tough game,” said Ince. “We don’t usually have games where we’re 3-0 up and we can just breathe… they tend to be tense, nervous games!
“I don’t expect any different at Cardiff. They’re coming off the back of a 2-0 win at Birmingham, which isn’t an easy place to go. They’ll be in a buoyant mood. And they haven’t had an easy start under Lamouchi, with three away games from his first four. So they’ll want to get three points in front of their fans.
“We’re under no illusion – it’ll be a tough game. But we go in off the back of three points against Rotherham, so we’ll go in full of confidence.
“We know our away form hasn’t been great this year. That’s been about small margins. So the most important thing is that we stay in every game. As we showed against Rotherham on Tuesday, if we stay in the game, we’ve got a chance of picking up points.”
Pearson: There are five worse teams than Wigan
Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson believes there are "five worse teams" than Bluebirds' relegation rivals Wigan Athletic.
Pearson's Robins relinquished a 1-0 lead over the Latics to come away with only a draw, meaning Wigan moved to within two points of Cardiff with a game in hand.
It's likely Cardiff, Wigan, Blackpool, Huddersfield and Rotherham will be in the relegation mix come May, however Pearson is confident Shaun Maloney's side will be clear of the drop.
"Yeah, they will be fine," said Pearson when asked if Wigan can survive.
"They will be fine. There are five teams that are worse than them. They are a decent side and a decent squad as well, they will be fine."
Birmingham win will provide 'huge lift'
Former Blackpool manager Michael Appleton believes Cardiff's win over Birmingham City will represent a "huge lift" in their fight for Championship survival.
The Bluebirds' 2-0 triumph over the Blues was their first win in more than three months, a run stretching back 14 games in all competitions. However, Perry Ng's stunning free-kick, quickly followed by Callum Robinson's smartly-taken goal, helped Sabri Lamouchi win his first game as Cardiff boss.
Appleton, who was sacked by fellow relegation candidates Blackpool last month, thinks the win could boost this squad as they head into the Reading match.
"From a confidence point of view, Perry Ng is obviously the one who puts the ball in the goal, but it gives all the players a huge, huge lift," Appleton said on ITV's EFL highlights show.
"I think the biggest thing when you are on a bit of a bad run is to get that second goal, which they did. They left it late, but they got the second goal and that important win."
Bowen collection
Cardiff City will be raising money for former player Jason Bowen at the Reading game tomorrow night after the news he has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
The ex-winger, 50, father of former Bluebirds midfielder Sam, played more than 100 times for the club and won two caps for Wales between 1994 and 1996.
He announced the devastating news last week and the family have set up a GoFundMe page to help with the treatment. The disease has no cure.
And the club hope to add to that GoFundMe pot tomorrow night with a bucket collection at the ground. Cardiff are looking for volunteers to assist with the collection. If you would like to help out, please meet at the Fred Keenor Statue at 6pm.
Also, if you would like to donate, you can go directly to Jason's GoFundMe page here.
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