Cardiff City boss Steve Morison has said he needs to recruit players who 'understand the game well' and will speak up on the pitch when the summer transfer window comes along, speaking to BBC Sport after their 1-0 loss against Luton Town.

The Bluebirds were perhaps unlucky not to get anything from yesterday's clash with the Hatters, dominating possession and having two golden opportunities to get themselves in front, with Jordan Hugill and Isaak Davies arguably needing to do better with their chances.

In the end, that came back to bite them with Harry Cornick's header finding its way past Dillon Phillips in the 71st to consign the Bluebirds to another defeat, something that will be a real source of frustration in the latter's quest to push Blackpool and other teams around them for a higher finish in the second-tier table.

To make things worse for Morison's side, their five loanees are set to return to their respective parent clubs in less than a month, leaving the second-tier side's boss with a considerable amount of work to do in their quest to be competitive next season.

If chairman Mehmet Dalman's comments last October are anything to go by, Morison will need to work within a very tight budget, though it remains to be seen whether the sale of Kieffer Moore has changed that situation with Covid-19 restriction easing allowing supporters back into the Cardiff City Stadium too.

Regardless of a potentially small budget to play with though, Cardiff's manager is determined to bring in the characters he needs to push his side on to greater things.

When asked whether he needed more players with great leadership skills in the first-team squad, he said: "No, just people who understand the game and know it well, who we don't have to keep organising from the side and keep telling them every single thing, because sometimes we can't do that and they have to work it out for themselves."

The Verdict:

Cardiff do have quite a few inexperienced players in their senior squad including Rubin Colwill and Isaak Davies, so having more experienced heads in there who will provide a positive voice can only be a good thing for the Bluebirds.

Looking at their lineup from yesterday, Tommy Doyle, Alfie Doughty, Cody Drameh and Joel Bagan are all still reasonably young, though the likes of Hugill and Curtis Nelson will have been disappointed not to have spoken up more as two of the more experienced players in that 11.

You would especially look to Hugill after seeing him gain confidence in the Welsh capital following a poor spell at West Bromwich Albion. However, this is something he can improve on in the coming games as he looks to impress Dean Smith at parent club Norwich City.

Looking ahead to next season though, having the right mix of youth and experience will be integral to the Bluebirds' success and this is why they shouldn't be afraid of recruiting older heads to provide them with more voices.

At the same time, they need players they can make a healthy profit from to abide by the EFL's financial rules and reinvest some of that revenue generated from sales back into the first-team squad to strengthen.