Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has admitted that Cardiff City's new manager Steve Morison will need to find a solution to the club's defensive woes in the coming months if he is to achieve a relative amount of success at this level.
Following Mick McCarthy's departure in October, Morison was given the chance to prove his worth as he was drafted in as the Bluebirds' caretaker boss.
The 38-year-old secured a 3-3 draw during his first game at the helm as Cardiff produced a fantastic comeback in their clash with Stoke City.
The Bluebirds then suffered a 1-0 defeat to QPR before finally ending their long wait for a victory in the Championship earlier this month in their showdown with Huddersfield Town at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Following this particular triumph, Morison was appointed as the club's manager on a permanent basis until the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
Cardiff will be looking to build upon their 2-1 victory over Huddersfield when they head to Deepdale to face Preston North End this weekend.
Making reference to the Welsh side, Goodman has suggested that Morison will need to focus on improving the club's defensive capabilities.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky Sports EFL Podcast about Morison, Goodman said: "In terms of Steve, he has changed the ethos a little bit but the one thing that he really, really will need to focus on and fix is the alarming rate in which they are shipping goals.
"They have let 31 goals in in 17 games.
"I mean that is way, way too many, there is only Peterborough that have let in more goals than that so if you're going to leak goals at that rate it really makes winning football matches very, very difficult."
The Verdict
When you consider that Cardiff have failed to keep a clean-sheet in the Championship since their showdown with Blackpool in August, it is imperative that Morison finds a solution to this issue over the Christmas period.
Although the Bluebirds will back themselves to outscore some of their opponents at this level, they may struggle to make any significant progress if they continue to concede on a regular basis in the second-tier.
If Morison is unable to fix this problem between now and January, it wouldn't be at all surprising if he decides to draft in some defensive reinforcements in the upcoming transfer window.
By signing some individuals who know exactly what it takes to succeed in the Championship, Morison could potentially lead the club to a relative amount of success during the second-half of the 2021/22 campaign.