Cardiff City: Omer Riza – ‘We have a mountain to climb’

LOW: Cardiff boss Riza

A 1-0 Defeat at home to Stoke City means Cardiff City now have four games in which to find enough points to stop themselves from dropping into the third tier for the first time since 2003.

The Potters scrambled a late winner courtesy of an own-goal by Cardiff’s Will Fish to steer themselves away from the relegation dogfight and plunge Cardiff deeper into it.

Mark Robins’ side is now five points clear of their relegation rivals with four games left in the season.

But manager Omer Riza still believes his side can beat the drop and is hopeful they can start winning games.

Riza: We still have 12 points to play for

“I’m disappointed for the fans and the club that we weren’t able to get what we needed from the game,” said Riza.

“We didn’t create any clear-cut moments.

“For me, there was a clear handball in the build-up to their goal, but we simply didn’t do well enough in dealing with the long throw-in.

“We have four more games to go and they are all massive – just like the last eight or nine have been – we have a mountain to climb.

“We lost the game to a basic moment which we should have managed better, but we still have 12 points to play for.

“You have to win games to get promoted and to beat relegation, and if we don’t start winning, then the writing is on the wall.”

They head to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday, host Oxford United on Monday, and then finish off with a home game against West Bromwich Albion and an away trip to Norwich City on the final day of the season.

READ MORE: Cardiff City 0-1 Stoke City: Poor Will Fish helps the Potters pull clear