These are your Cardiff City headlines on Sunday, April 10
Doughty loves it
Cardiff loan star Alfie Doughty says he has loved his time at the club so far, adding that the dressing room is "top class".
Doughty joined the Bluebirds on loan in January from parent club Stoke City but was injured almost immediately, with an ankle knock preventing him from really bedding in in south Wales. But since his return to fitness, the youngster has shown what he can do, and he grabbed his first goal for the club against Reading at the weekend.
"I love it here and want to keep playing," he said. "I’ve loved every single second that I’ve been here, they’ve shown me respect and the whole dressing room is top class. We’re just aiming to finish as well as possible; we know how good we are, we’ve got to show how well we can apply pressure to every other side, and if we win the last six games who knows where we could end up.
"We’ve now won five games from six and it demonstrates how far we’ve come. There’s such a great morale within the club and with the boys, and the sky’s the limit taking that into next season.”
“The performance was first class and the win demonstrated that,” he added. “It’s a show of the character that we’ve got in the team because we bounced back straight away from last week with a victory. After their goal went in, we picked ourselves up and went again; we don’t give up and owed it to the fans to take three points. I got my first goal for the club too and it’s just one of those feelings that sets you on the right path - fortunately it led to us winning 2-1."
Williams reveals what happened last summer
Former Cardiff man Jonny Williams says he wanted to stay at the club and revealed he had options to sign for clubs abroad before settling on Swindon Town.
Williams joined the Bluebirds under Mick McCarthy's watch in February of last year, with the manager describing the move as "one of the best deals of the transfer window". Unfortunately it didn't work out for the Wales man, with just one start to his name in south Wales he was released at the end of that season.
As a free agent he mulled over his options after the European Championships and eventually signed for League Two side Swindon. His contract expires at the end of the campaign and he's now opened up on what happened when he left the Welsh capital.
"I wanted to get to the Euros, that was my main aim," he said. "Obviously I wanted to spend more time at Cardiff. But when a team wins eight games in a row, it's hard to get in the team, you can't complain, so you have to bide your time and be patient.
"In the end I ran out of game-time really that season. I was hopeful, I had a discussion with Mick (McCarthy), he said hopefully I'd be staying next year, but one reason or another, something obviously changed. I was a free agent and didn't get as many opportunities as I would have liked there, to show what I can do. Anyone who has watched me over the years knows my strengths and what I can do, and what I can bring to a team. Mick appreciated that.
"I've played the majority of my career at Championship level, I still believe I can play at that level, but I haven't proved, or been fit enough in the last few years. I wanted to go and play for someone who believed me and someone who was going to play me and there is no better person than Ben (Garner) at Swindon, I've known since I was about 11 at Crystal Palace.
"I like the way he tried to play football and how he is as a man-manager. He was in League Two at the time, we were having discussions back and fore for about four weeks ion the end, I was a free agent, my head was a bit all over the place, didn't know where I wanted to go, there was options abroad as well and in the end I ended up at Swindon with Ben. I believe everything happens for a reason."
To get the latest transfer news from Cardiff City Stadium, sign up to our newsletter here.
Etheridge out of hospital
Former Cardiff stopper Neil Etheridge has been released from hospital after being knocked unconscious during Birmingham City's game with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Etheridge collided with Djed Spence in the 60th minute at the City Ground and immediately required medical attention. He was taken to hospital where checks took place, before he was released on Saturday evening. In a statement, the Midlands club said: " Following a collision with Nottingham Forest defender Djed Spence in the 60th minute of Saturday’s fixture, Blues ‘keeper Neil Etheridge was knocked unconscious and required immediate medical attention on the field of play.
"After a swift response from the medical personnel at the City Ground, Etheridge was stabilised before being transferred to the Queen’s Medical Centre to undergo further assessment. Thankfully, CT scans revealed no injury to the bones in the head but considerable swelling to the right side of the face which took the full force of the impact. Following close consultation with the club’s medical staff, he was cleared to return home late on Saturday evening.
"The club will follow the FA’s concussion protocol over the coming days whilst continually monitoring Etheridge’s condition to ensure his safe return to action. We would like to place on record our thanks to the staff at the City Ground and the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham for their quick and effective response to what was an extremely concerning situation."
