Cardiff fans may be underwhelmed by Neil Harris, but he can get them into the playoffs

It was perhaps inevitable that a club who were in the Premier League last season might feel a little underwhelmed by having a former Millwall manager as their top man.

But Neil Harris left the Den as a hero, having done all he could at the club, and on the Totally Football League Show this week, both Adrian Clarke and David Connolly – who worked with Harris at Millwall – think he could be a success in Wales.

“For Neil it’s a big jump,” said David. “He did really well at Millwall, but as we’ve seen with Mauricio Pochettino, every manager has his shelf-life. I don’t know if he could really change things – I know he really struggled up top, he lost his front men, they were always injured.

“But it’s a big job [at Cardiff]. It’s a different set of expectations to Millwall.

“Certainly at Millwall, he did well with what he had. He ended up selling players for fees they couldn’t have dreamt about in previous years. The likes of George Saville going for £7-8million, having signed him for £300,000.

“He’s got to mould a squad, with so many new signings that Neil Warnock made.”

What will his priorities be when he arrives in Cardiff?

“He needs a striker, that much is clear,” said Adrian. “January can’t come soon enough I’d imagine. It will be interesting in January to see who he goes for up top. He’s big on character, he wants ‘proper men’ in the dressing room, and I think there are those type of people already in the dressing room.

“I don’t see a load of egos in the Cardiff dressing room – I don’t think Neil Warnock would have tolerated that sort of thing for a start. In that respect, it’s a suitable job for him.

“I don’t understand why Cardiff fans aren’t pleased with this move – there’s a feeling that they’re underwhelmed, but I just think – give him a chance. I think he’s capable of getting them towards the playoffs this season – they’re seven points off it, there’s plenty of time.”

You can listen to the latest edition of the Totally Football League Show here, and even better, you can subscribe here. If you wish to reproduce any of the material in this article or from the podcast you are very welcome to, but please credit The Totally Football Show and include this link.

If you’d like to keep up to date with everything we do at the Totally Football Show, sign up to our newsletter.