Cardiff City legend Danny Gabbidon has given his verdict on what the team need to do in order to achieve success in the Championship this season.

Neil Warnock's side are one of the favourites to win promotion from the second tier following their relegation from the Premier League last term, but have lost two of their opening three league matches.

The Bluebirds lost 3-0 to Reading at the Madejski Stadium at the weekend, conceding three goals for the second time in three matches.

In an interview with WalesOnline, the former Cardiff and Wales international defender highlighted three areas that the team need to address in order to get their season back on track - the defence, their mentality and their attacking players.

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"I think, first and foremost, it's getting the defensive side of things sorted out. It's very difficult to win games of football when you're conceding so many goals," Gabbidon told WalesOnline.

"Maybe from the weekend as well, the mentality side of things. I think there may be a little bit of a hangover coming down from the Premier League and the team adjusting to life in the Championship.

"Third one, for me, I think you probably look at the top end as well, the attacking side of things - figuring out who is going to be his main three.

"I've named three things there but it's a collective thing. It's a team thing, it starts from the defending side all the way through to the attacking side.

"I'm no manager, I'm no Neil Warnock, but that's what I'd be looking at on the training ground now."

Cardiff are currently 19th in the Championship table and face Huddersfield Town in their next game on Wednesday.

The Verdict

I couldn't agree more with Gabbidon here. The Cardiff team that won automatic promotion to the Premier League two seasons ago was built around a strong defence and being difficult to beat.

If Cardiff are to challenge for promotion this season, they need to sort their defence out - there's no doubt about that.

Maybe Gabbidon is right to question their mentality too - perhaps the players need to realise what it takes to win games in the Championship again.

As for his thoughts on the attacking players, I think he's spot on. Cardiff have got some very good attacking players and they're going to be key to the team's chances of success this season, so Warnock needs to figure out how to get the best out of them.

It's still early days yet and Warnock is an extremely experienced manager. I think he's got what it takes to turn things around and despite their underwhelming start, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Cardiff challenge for promotion this season.