"I'm ready" - Slaven Bilic drops hint after Cardiff City manager links | OneFootball

The former West Brom boss' name has been mentioned in discussions surrounding Cardiff's next manager.

Slaven Bilic has said that he is "ready to work," after being linked with becoming Cardiff City's next permanent manager.

Not long after the Bluebirds took the decision to part ways with Erol Bulut, it was reported that they weren't going to rush any decisions to find his successor. That reporting has well and truly been proven to be correct.

It's been well over a month since the Turkish manager was dismissed from his position in the Welsh capital after a tepid start to the new campaign. Omer Riza stepped in as interim boss and has not only guided City out of the bottom three, but he's also firmly put himself into the discussions about who will be the next permanent boss at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Riza received the backing of current Cardiff player Callum Robinson earlier in the month. He said that Riza is "one of the better coaches," that he has ever worked with, as per Wales Online.

Other candidates have been floated about over the past five weeks, including Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones, who said he would: "love," to have the opportunity to lead the Bluebirds one day, as well as former Birmingham City and Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray.

Bilic - the man who was previously in charge of West Ham United, West Bromwich Albion and Watford - was also linked with the still vacant permanent position.

He was thought to be an unlikely option though, as he was expected to be occupied with other things until after the start of 2025, according to Wales Online journalist Paul Abbandonato.

But, after recent comments, it seems like Bilic would be available earlier than expected if he was the man that Cardiff wanted to appoint.

Slaven Bilic hints at early return to management after Cardiff links

The Croatian manager has revealed, to Birmingham Live, that he is: "ready to work," following reports of him being a potentially intriguing option for the Bluebirds.

Bilic left his last club - Saudi Pro League side Al-Fateh - in August and has been out of management since then.

"At the moment I like it at home, but of course I'm ready to work," said the 56-year-old. "I'm at a good age and part of me would work, but I'm waiting for a good opportunity. For the meantime, I am enjoying this. I am still working with [coaches] Danilo [Butorovic] and Dean [Racunica], I have good people around me."

The majority of Bilic's career in the dugout has been spent in the Premier League, where he has taken charge of a century of fixtures. However, his points per game record in England's second tier is better than his top tier record.

Omer Riza has done Cardiff City a massive favour

There's no guarantee that Riza, despite the strong job he has done as interim, will get the position as Cardiff's next manager permanently.

Given the good run that he has been on, there may have been some feeling that he could be the right person to go with long-term, but they are, obviously, yet to come to that decision yet.

One thing that is for certain is that he has made the jobs of the City hierarchy much easier. Had he come in and continued to struggle to get a tune out of this group, like Bulut did, then they may have been rushed into making an appointment.

Cardiff board to take their time, and, for that, they should be very thankful to him.