Cardiff City boss Mick McCarthy has said he understands fans' frustration after recording their fifth consecutive league loss last night, adding that him and his side can't say they didn't deserve to be booed as he spoke to BBC Sport Wales.

The former Republic of Ireland manager enters the Bluebirds final match before the international break at the weekend with his job in real danger, after seeing a shoddy second-half performance at the Cardiff City Stadium punished by West Bromwich Albion as they recorded a thumping 4-0 away victory.

This has only gone on to rub salt in the wound for the 62-year-old who saw his side receive a 5-1 away hammering against Blackburn Rovers at the weekend as they dropped down to 16th place.

 

 

They could be in an even worse position by the end of tonight's second-tier fixtures with Luton Town, Swansea City, Millwall, Barnsley and Peterborough United all having the ability to overtake the Bluebirds in their games this evening.

Although unlikely, they could be as far down as 21st by 10pm tonight and in real danger of being dragged into the relegation mix after going unbeaten in their first four league fixtures of the campaign.

However, four games, 11 goals conceded and a quartet of consecutive losses in their last four matches has left them in a dangerous position and Mick McCarthy spoke out about Cardiff City supporters' understandable frustration.

He said to BBC Sport Wales: "It's not like us and it's certainly not like us from last season.

"I share the fans' frustrations and I can't say we don't deserve it.

"I will work as hard as I can to make things right, that is what I have always tried to do in my career.

"I will do all I can to turn it around. The players are bitterly disappointed... I can't complain (with the fans' reaction) with the results that we have had."

"The away fans singing it at me doesn't bother me one bit, but the home fans doing it? That's a completely different ballgame, but I can't say we don't deserve it, because we aren't playing well," he added.

"I hope this is where my experience comes in, because otherwise I will be struggling."

The Verdict:

Despite two heavy defeats and clear unhappiness at the Cardiff City Stadium, the next international break is only one game away so it would be a surprise to see McCarthy sacked between now and the weekend's fixture against Reading.

However, you could argue he has 90 minutes to save his job, because fans are already starting to turn on him.

Players like Kieffer Moore do need to step up to the plate and do more though, especially with Harry Wilson's departure back to Liverpool before his permanent move to Fulham having an obvious effect on the club going forward.

There can be no excuses for their defensive performances though, especially with two experienced centre-backs in Sean Morrison and Aden Flint in there. It's alright being a threat from attacking set-pieces, but they need to do the basics first in defence if they want to improve their form.

It would have been impossible for them to get any points on the board last night with their shoddy work in defence, so that has to be one area of focus, although there are many areas that need to be looked at.

They may also need to work on the mental side of the game after heavy back-to-back defeats - and the Cardiff boss has just a few days to prepare his side before another tough test against Reading.