Sky Sports EFL pundit Keith Andrews has suggested that Mick McCarthy might still be able to turn things around and survive at Cardiff City if they can secure a win against Fulham.
The Bluebirds have endured a dismal run of form in the Championship with them having now suffered six straight defeats following their 3-0 defeat at Swansea City on Sunday in the derby clash.
That has put a lot of pressure on McCarthy and there will be many who are surprised to see that he is still in his job following that defeat against Swansea at the weekend.
Cardiff’s run of form has seen them drop way down the Championship table and they are just three points clear of the relegation zone.
That means they travel to Fulham on Wednesday in desperate need of a positive result against a side that are amongst the favourites for promotion this term.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ latest EFL podcast, Andrews suggested that Cardiff are lacking confidence and missing the likes of Harry Wilson, Sheyi Ojo and Josh Murphy. However, he also believes that McCarthy could yet turn things around with a win at Fulham.
He said: "It's been a tough few weeks I've gone through their results in the last few weeks and it's such a quick turnaround because after the last international break they played Nottingham Forest on the 12th September and they came back from a goal down, Colwill got a double, made a couple of substitutions got Kieffer Moore on and even when they went a goal down it still felt, it felt ok you felt there was a real kind of vibrancy around the team and an inner confidence to be able to deal with that.
"And obviously, what happens with footballers when results don't go particularly well confidence is such a big factor in that. I looked at the team yesterday and they did look low on confidence there's no doubt about it.
"I know in the first half Mick was content up until the first goal and a lot of that possession from Swansea was in front of Cardiff and they weren't being carved open.
"I think when you look at what they're able to do when they win the ball back, for me it's not the same as last they, they're missing Harry Wilson, they're missing Sheyi Ojo, Murphy going in the summer as well I'm not quite sure.
"So when you have a squad of players at your disposal you need something a little different and that type of player for me is severely missing from what's needed to spring them forward, if they are gonna sit back and absorb pressure to a point.
"So look it's been a tough run but the manager in the way he deals, we all know him reasonably well he's certainly someone I've admired and respected for a long long time and I don't like seeing this pain that he's obviously going through, but all it takes is one result, all it takes is a win against Fulham on Wednesday to be able to kick start it again, that's how football works."
The verdict
It is still a surprise to see McCarthy is still in post following the way that they lost against their fierce rivals on Sunday. However, it does show that there is a real genuine appetite amongst the Bluebirds’ hierarchy to try and give him some time to turn things around.
Having said that it would be difficult to see McCarthy being able to survive another defeat against Fulham because that would make it seven straight defeats in the Championship.
However, if they were to against the odds cause an upset at Fulham then that could be the result that instills new confidence and belief back into the squad and get them pushing back up the Championship table.
It could very well be the last chance for McCarthy but you would not completely bet against a manager with his experience finding a way to somehow keep his position.