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Tom Coleman

'Everything is open' — Sabri Lamouchi ready to present case for Cardiff City job and already has plans

Sabri Lamouchi says he's ready to present his case to the Cardiff City board as he bids to extend his stay in the capital.

The Frenchman signed a deal until the end of the season when he took the reins in January, and was handed a brief to keep Cardiff in the Championship.

Thursday night's win over Rotherham United means the Bluebirds are now within touching distance of doing just that. Indeed, survival will be mathematically confirmed with just one more point from their next two games, starting with the visit of Huddersfield Town on Sunday.

READ MORE: Cardiff City in contact with police after stars subjected to 'apalling' racist abuse

It's a situation that will see attention start to drift to the summer and what will happen next, with Lamouchi's future still up in the air.

Resolving the manager's position will surely be the number-one priority for the Cardiff hierarchy over the coming weeks, and Lamouchi admits he's keen to stay on board.

Asked if he expected to still be at the club next season, he replied: "Why not? Everything is open. I was here for the mission. The mission is almost done and I'm happy to be the manager of Cardiff City Football Club.

"So now there's a desire to put something together.

"I've not spoken to the owners yet. I'm just focused on the Huddersfield game. I want to finish with a win - for my players first because they deserve absolutely the win, and of course for the fans.

"To be the manager of this club is something important for me, and we need to respect that and just focus on this game."

Lamouchi says he already has his own ideas on what's needed to ensure Cardiff are fighting higher up the Championship table next term, and has some potential transfer targets in mind.

"Now I know my team," he said. "90 days working together. 49-50 sessions. 16 games. 19 goals. 20 points. I have little, small idea [on what's needed next season].

"I have some ideas [on transfers]. Now we have to discuss with the club what they want to do.

"I'm just the manager. So I can only impact on my players. That's what I'm trained to do.

"I'm happy here. The mission was to stay up. It's almost done. Not yet. But almost. Now my focus is just on finishing for the players and the fans with a win at home.

"Then? I'm absolutely available. For lunch, dinner, tea, meeting. Everything."

In terms of the next couple of games, Lamouchi says there is no shortage of confidence within the camp at the moment following the dramatic late win over the Millers at the New York Stadium.

"The mood is very positive," he added. "We're a little bit tired as we came back last night. We didn't sleep too much, but we woke up with a smile and the energy in the building is absolutely positive.

"Almost. Not yet. But almost. So proud about this kind of performance. The way we've talked about this team about this squad, people were saying there wasn't enough quality. They weren't good enough.

"But a big win at Rotherham. A big win at Blackpool. A big win in Birmingham. It's not bad.

"We deserve it and I'm really happy for the players."

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