Manager Chris Wilder launched an astonishing post-match tirade where he claimed his players gifted Cardiff City all three points following the Bluebirds win over Watford on Wednesday.
Wilder said that he spoke to Cardiff coach Dean Whitehead after the game and revealed the Bluebirds coaching staff were actually worried about shipping in more goals following Ismaila Sarr’s early opener, before the visitors came from behind to win 3-1 thanks to goals from Kion Etete, Cedric Kipre and Sory Kaba.
It's a result which eases the relegation pressure on Cardiff slightly - although Wilder feels it was gifted to them on a plate.
“I’ve just been talking to Dean Whitehead, one of their coaching staff. A lad I know well,” said Wilder after the game.
“He said at 1-0 up, they’re thinking 'how many'. When we went 1-0 up, you might have seen I got a message on to Hamza (Choudhury) and said ‘nobody changes the script, just do what we’re doing, keep doing it, keep moving the ball, keep opening them up and finding the spaces’.
“It could have been a good night for us. The atmosphere before was great. I know sometimes night games you don’t get always get the attendance, but the atmosphere at the start was good and relaxed, I think people enjoyed the start we made. And then all of a sudden, it just went off plan.”
The result leaves the Bluebirds two points clear of danger in 19th, while Wilder’s side are now left further adrift from an immediate return to the Premier League after getting relegated from the top flight last year.
The 55-year-old took over at Vicarage Road back in March following the sacking of Slaven Bilic. Since then the Hornets have only picked up nine points out of a possible 24, leaving them languishing outside of the play-off spots in 12th.
“We know where we wanted the game, and we know where they wanted the game," he added. "They wanted a bitty game; they want to break the game up. And they had the right to break the game up because they were 3-1 up. They don’t want a fast-flowing game, and yet even in the second half we’ve had three or four chances.
“They have three big centre-halves and three midfield players. If I got a marker pen and drew a picture of three here and three here, it’s quite easy to say where the space is. But we tried to keep going through the middle and being individuals. Players haven’t got the courage to dig each other out, they’ve not got the courage to say ‘get off my toes and go and play in your position’, and that’s basically because they’re individuals.
“You can’t drop points against Wigan, Huddersfield, Coventry and Cardiff, and expect to be anywhere near the play-offs."
Cardiff’s win over the Hornets is the first time this season the Bluebirds have come from behind to win a game, perhaps representing a shift in mentality in the squad since Sabri Lamouchi came into the hotseat back in January.
Wilder was insistent that his side were the main reason Lamouchi’s men went on to steal all three points, claiming their inability to attack the right spaces of the pitch was to blame for their defeat.
“Second half the game was theirs. It was bitty and niggly," he said.
“I’ve got no issue with that as they’ve earned the right to do it. Well, they’ll say they’ve earned it. For me, it was totally self-inflicted, that 10 or 15 minutes. Tactically, the space was out wide, but we had players playing all over the place in the second half. Forwards playing in the pitch, full-backs playing out the pitch.
“I felt sorry for the full-backs because they should have been playing in the pitch and the wingers should have been playing out the pitch as apparently that’s their game, taking people on and crossing it.
“When we did cross it we can’t get across the near post. It’s just basic football. And we still created three chances. They’ve had five chances and scored three goals. It’s not really been a smash and grab, it’s been a gift. Look at the decisions in that period. That 10 or 15 minutes epitomised the longer-standing issues. It’s a club of individuals, isn’t it?"
Cardiff are hosting Stoke City on Saturday and they’ll be hoping for a good result against the Potters to push them further away from the drop zone and even closer to another season in the Championship.
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