Omer Riza hopes his intel from Cardiff City players and coaches will help give them the edge over QPR and get the Bluebirds back to winning ways.
Cardiff are without a win in their last three matches, having lost two and drawn one, but now face a golden opportunity to get back on track in front of the home fans on Wednesday evening.
In their ranks, Cardiff have goalkeeper coach Gavin Ward, who spent eight years in the same post in west London, and Chris Willock, who was a fan favourite at Loftus Road before he left for south Wales in the summer. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
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Speaking ahead of the clash, Riza said: “Wardy [Gavin Ward] was there for eight years, so he was part of the furniture. Chris [Willock] was there a while, so it’s nice to have people that have been there and know the players well. We’ve done our homework on them, so that’s been good.
“I expect the same from every team in the league, everyone wants points and every point is important. They’ll be coming here after not a bad performance against Stoke. They created a lot of opportunities, they were solid and resilient, and that’s what we’re expecting. Like I say, every team we play against is going to be approached with the same thought process.”
Cardiff still have a number of injuries to contend with. As well as the long-term absentees — namely Aaron Ramsey, Isaak Davies, Kion Etete and Ryotaro Tsunoda — the Bluebirds are sweating on the fitness of Calum Chambers and Anwar El Ghazi.
Willock, in particular, will want to make a good account of himself against his former employers and might just get his opportunity to impress on Wednesday evening.
Injuries bring about opportunities for others, of course, while Riza admits some of his cohort have not been hitting the levels expected of them.
“Providing you’ve got the players to rotate, you rotate,” Riza said of team selection. “We’ve had a few injuries and we’ve still got a few injuries.
“We’ve got players who’ve not quite hit the form that they need to hit.
“We will try and manage it best we can. When the boys are ready and are at the level we feel they can be very impactful, they will get the opportunity to play.”
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Cardiff’s form on the road has been woeful this season, failing to win any game away from home. Conversely, they have won four of their last five at home and it has become a source of strength for the Bluebirds.
“It’s always your last game that people remember,” Riza said. “We lost 3-1 to Blackburn and it wasn’t a great game, but we have been good at home and we want to take that into the next game. We want to be dominant in possession and enjoy the ball. I’m sure we’ll get back to that tomorrow.
“When you produce moments like (the late win over Norwich City), it gets the fans off their seats. I’ve said it since day one, I want to excite the fans and for them to be supporting the boys no matter what. They’re our supporters, they love the club and they’ve been fantastic. We need to give them something to shout about.”
