Portsmouth relegation rivals hold 'talks' with Neil Warnock over sensational return to management

The Welsh outfit - whose Championship status is under severe threat - are considering a change of manager with just four games of the season remaining. And that could see them appoint 76-year-old Warnock in a final through of the dice move to keep them in the second tier.

Under current boss Omer Riza, Cardiff sit 22nd in the table - one point from safety and four behind the 19th-placed Blues - after a run of just one win in nine games. That victory came against Blackburn on March 15, but sandwiched either side of it were are straight defeats and a current run of games that has produced three draws and a defeat, with the latest loss coming against Stoke on Saturday.

An away trip to promotion-chasing Sheffield United awaits the league strugglers on Good Friday, with games against Oxford United (H), West Brom and Norwich (A) to follow after that.

Time is certainly running out for Cardiff to retain their place in the division - and according to TBR Football’s Graeme Bailey, that has forced the Bluebirds, who sacked Erol Bulut in October. to sound out Warnock over a possible return to the club.

He told Football Analysis: ‘Cardiff are considering making a change before the end of the season and former boss Neil Warnock is their preferred choice to come in.

‘Omer Riza was given the permanent job in December having replaced Erol Bulut as boss and has battled hard to keep the club up since that point. However, the weekend’s loss to rivals Stoke City has left the Welsh giants in the bottom three and the club are now looking at bringing back former boss Warnock for their final handful of games to see if he can pull of a great escape.’

Warnock spent three years at the Cardiff City Stadium earlier in his career. He helped guide the club to promotion to the Premier League in 2017-18 but couldn’t keep them there as they were relegated after just one season in the top-flight.

He subsequently left in November 2019, with jobs at Middlesbrough, Huddersfield and Aberdeen following. Currently retired from management, Warnock acts as a footballer advisor at Torquay United.

Omer Riza’s position at Cardiff City under threat

Riza has been in charge of 39 Cardiff games this season and has a record of 10 wins, 15 draws and 14 defeats.

When asked about his Cardiff future after Saturday’s defeat to Stoke, he told WalesOnline: ‘I don't know. You've got to ask the board. It's not my place to answer that question. All I know is I'm doing everything I can as a manager to try and get the results that we need to avoid relegation and stay up.

‘​​That's all I can do with my staff and my players, that's' what we'll continue to do right until the end as long as I'm given the opportunity to do it. If not and it doesn't go that way then I have to accept it.

‘Obviously we're in the position we're in and the players are feeling the pressures of it. We're trying to approach it as positively as we can.

‘We've got players on the top line that can cause problems. We've got midfielders that are creative. We've got a certain amount of experience throughout the team. And we've got a togetherness. I think these things are key to try and get out of this situation’.

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