Cardiff City legend Danny Gabbidon has called the mentality of the current Bluebirds' squad into question following their poor run of performances. 

Neil Harris' side have not won a Championship match since the turn of the year, drawing three and losing one (the 6-1 defeat to QPR on New Year's Day), and Gabbidon believes they are still suffering from their spell in the Premier League.

"It's not just what we are seeing on the pitch, it's a mentality thing as well at Cardiff," he said on the BBC's Elis James Feast of Football podcast.

"Last season, you look at what happened, most weeks you are getting beaten up by Premier League teams, you get relegated, there was a lot of off-field stuff that happened as well, and a lot of the squad is still there this season.

"Sometimes you have that bit of a hangover going into the next season, the Championship can be a bit of a shock again and the mentality is not quite right."

QUIZ: Can you guess what these 14 ex-Cardiff men are up to now?

During his career with Cardiff, Gabbidon racked up over 100 appearances, scoring four goals, and becoming a legend over two different spells.

With 28 games played of the current campaign, Cardiff sit in 13th place with seven points between themselves and Preston North End, who occupy the final place in the play-offs as things stand.

They will have the chance to boost confidence away from the league on Saturday when they travel to Reading in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The verdict

I think Gabbidon is spot on with this assesment.

Having been in an intense relegation battle for much of the season, coupled with the tragedy surrounding Emiliano Sala, it is hard to blame the players for being a tad run down so far.

Sometimes a transitional season like this, lacking any sort of drama, can be good for a side. A factory reset of sorts.