Exclusive: Cardiff City told be careful of taking Neil Warnock “risk” | OneFootball

Joe Jacobson believes that Cardiff City would be taking a risk if they bring in Neil Warnock at this stage of the season.

Joe Jacobson believes Cardiff City would be taking a risk if they appoint Neil Warnock given the short time he would have to save them from relegation.

It has been a disappointing campaign for the Bluebirds, with the Welsh side one point and one place from safety with just four games to go.

Given their struggles, it’s no surprise that boss Omer Riza has been under pressure, with some fans feeling the club would benefit from making a change.

Neil Warnock linked with Cardiff City return

And, it has been claimed that Cardiff could turn to former manager Warnock, who has been out of work since a brief spell with Aberdeen in 2024.

At 76, Warnock would only be a short-term solution, but the thinking is that he could make an impact over the next few weeks.

As well as having a great record at this level, Warnock remains a popular figure among the supporters after guiding the club to promotion, so he could have everyone pulling in the same direction for this period.

Cardiff City would be taking a risk if they appoint Neil Warnock

Yet, speaking exclusively to FLW, ex-Wycombe skipper now turned EFL pundit Jacobson explained why this would be a gamble for the Championship strugglers, with Warnock having little time to get his ideas across to the players.

“Warnock’s name has been thrown about a little bit. It’s always at this time of the season, or this is perhaps a bit late even by his standards!

“With Cardiff, I don’t know what it is at the minute. Under Riza, they had a good little run but drew too many games, but right now they just don’t look like winning, other than the game at Blackburn.

“It was a cruel, late blow against Stoke, so I understand why there’s talk, but is it too late to change anything or do you just stick with the manager who knows the players and has been working with them. Is Warnock going to come in and keep them up? Who knows, but it is a risk.”

Cardiff City’s players need to step up during run-in

Some will argue that Warnock might be able to get more of a tune out of this group, but the reality is that you can’t expect any manager to suddenly change things when there’s just over two weeks left this season.

Of course, some will say if Cardiff think they’re going down under Riza, then there’s nothing to lose, so it will be interesting to see if they do make a change.

Ultimately, though, it’s now down to the players to get themselves out of this mess, no matter who is in the dugout.

Cardiff have the talent in the squad to get results, but they need to start turning some of these draws into victories.

With games against Sheffield United, Oxford United, West Brom and Norwich City, the Bluebirds don’t have the easiest run-in, so there is pressure on the side to try and get results to ensure they don’t drop to League One.