Portsmouth rivals Cardiff City make managerial decision that could aid Blues' Championship hopes

Pompey rivals Cardiff City have seemingly made a decision over their manager situation ahead of Tuesday's clash in South Wales.

The managerless Bluebirds host Pompey at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, October 22. It will be almost a month since they sacked boss Erol Bulut, but they have been no closer to appointing his replacement.

Former Arsenal and West Ham striker Omer Riza was named as interim manager, and it appears that he will be in charge for at least the next two games. Under Riza's stewardship, they've played three games, and have tasted a loss, a win, and a draw.

Several names have popped up over the last three weeks, including Chelsea legend Claude Makelele, but according to WalesOnline, they have been 'underwhelmed' by those who are currently available, and are happy for Riza to continue his reign for just a little longer. It has meant that despite the international break offering a period without a game for a new manager to get their ideas across, they have instead stuck with their caretaker manager.

That could be good news for Pompey, who won’t come up against the so called ‘new manager bounce’. Cardiff have improved under Riza since he took over from Bulut, guiding them to their first league win of the campaign, and last time out they drew against Bristol City.

Riza will continue against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, and then on Tuesday against Pompey, but the outcome of those two matches could likely decide whether he continues in to next Saturday or if they are rushed in to making an appointment.

At the start of the season, Plymouth were tipped for a relegation battle, and Pompey like Cardiff are currently occupying one of the relegation spots. A string of bad results for Cardiff against two sides they could be in and around this season, might speed up the manager process, but maximum points could put Riza in a good position to be named Bulut’s successor.

“The pressure is always on to have to win," said Riza to WalesOnline in his pre-match press conference.

"If you don’t it’s easy for people to say you’re not good enough or you've done something wrong.

"The flipside of that is if you win two games, then it's 'OK you've won against Plymouth and Portsmouth', without being disrespectful to them.

"'He should have won them, it's an easy game for Cardiff', that’s how people may think. We know that's not the case, because every game in the Championship is as tough as the other."

For Pompey, at least they know which manager they will face next week, and then from Tuesday onwards, they will be keeping an eye on one of their possible relegation rivals. A win in midweek is a must if they are to create some breathing room between them and the league’s basement club.