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Mark Hudson reveals 'open' talks with Vincent Tan about Cardiff City's plight as he demands players be more 'ruthless'

Mark Hudson has called for his goal-shy Cardiff City players to be more "ruthless" and ease the burden on Callum Robinson ahead of this weekend's important clash with Blackpool.

The Bluebirds are the Championship's joint-lowest scorers this term, having netted just 19 goals so far this term. They have won just two of their last nine games and could be in the bottom three if results go against them this weekend.

And while Hudson was pleased with his team's resolve away at a notoriously difficult ground in Stoke City, where they drew 2-2, he needs his players to start converting chances if they are to shoot away from the drop zone.

READ MORE: It is crunch time for Vincent Tan as he faces big Cardiff decisions if he is to realise Premier League dream again

"I think we have created a lot of opportunities at home and we have talked about being ruthless," Hudson said ahead of the visit of the Seasiders. "We have created those opportunities to be ruthless.

"That's something we work on at training and in the meeting rooms. That has to be between games and within games, where we can build momentum, be more expansive and pick and choose when we find the gaps.

"There are moments we can defend from front to back and moments we can be compact. We are creating chances and that's a positive sign."

The one shining light in that forward line so far this season has been Callum Robinson, whose numbers stack up nicely with four goals and four assists in his 11 outings for the men in blue.

And while the Bluebirds boss was delighted with the former West Brom forward's output so far this term, he asked others to start sharing the burden.

"We knew what we were getting," he said of Robinson, "but others do need to add to that. It needs to be shared.

"For him and his form, it's great, but we need to take responsibility across the board to take those situations. Kion [Etete] came on and almost scored with at the front post and with a header (at Stoke). Everyone is pushing."

The January transfer window is around the corner, a little more than a fortnight away, and it seems talks are still ongoing as to what might be possible in terms of player recruitment in the new year.

However, with 17 players having come in throughout the summer, it might be a case of allowing the players who are in the building to gel together in hope of it clicking into place.

Hudson added: "Talking about the players I've got in the building, I trust every single one of them. They are good human beings. They put everything they have got into games. You can never look at our squad and think that no-one is trying.

"We talk about character. Fight, I talk about it lots. They are working their hardest and they are gelling. Seventeen new players come into any building, a full squad flip, it's not something that happens overnight.

"They are getting used to each other, they are demanding more from each other. That can't only come from us, it has to come from within.

"There is a togetherness which grows over a period of time. It's like any working environment, it'll take a while to get used to each other, strengths and weakness, loud or quiet ones. The trust and belief grows week in, week out."

The last time Vincent Tan spoke to the press at the beginning of November, he still held a hope of Cardiff embarking on a winning streak and charge up the table, with pay-offs clearly in his crosshairs.

It's not quite worked out like that as we approach the mid-point of the season this weekend. But with such a squad overhaul in the summer, does Tan appreciate that this is a season of transition?

"The demands are what they are," Hudson said. "An owner wants their club to do well and their team to perform. We know that and I know the demands of this league and demands we put on the players and they are accepting of those.

"We need more results and we know that. We have played well enough to get results in games and we've not got them. We are trying to be ruthless in games, it's so important because we have created those moments.

"We speak openly about it. Seventeen new players coming into a building aren't expected to come in and win every game and be top of the league. But there are moments in games we should be better in and should have done better.

"If we perform to our levels, we can be dangerous to opposition teams. We know the importance of points."

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