Cardiff City manager Mick McCarthy will be given at least this week's matches against Fulham and Middlesbrough to save his job in the Welsh capital after holding a meeting with the board, according to Wales Online.

The Bluebirds are have endured a miserable run of form lately, losing six consecutive league matches and dropping down from eighth place in the Championship table to 20th as things stand, sitting just three points above the relegation zone after a promising start to the campaign.

Scoring just once in this torrid six-game run and conceding 15, they look set to continue to slide down their slide down the table unless they can turn around their fortunes in the short-term, with Sunday afternoon's 3-0 humiliation against Swansea City potentially their biggest blow of the campaign so far.

However, they could be in for another tough tie as they travel to Craven Cottage tomorrow night to automatic promotion contenders Fulham, who recorded a convincing 4-1 win against Queens Park Rangers at the weekend and could be set to win heavily again if the Bluebirds fail to step up to the plate.

This weekend's match against Middlesbrough, who will be buoyed by their late win over Peterborough United last Saturday, could also be a tough test in front of their home fans, especially if they lose again against the Cottagers this midweek.

But despite the huge challenges they face against these sides and calls for McCarthy to go amid their torrid form, Wales Online believe the 62-year-old will be given these two matches to save his job before any decision is made on his future.

However, it's unclear at this stage whether he will be sacked if the second-tier outfit go on to lose both fixtures, although the former Republic of Ireland manager's job would surely become untenable at that point.

The Verdict:

Cardiff's board certainly can't be accused of firing McCarthy too quickly if they stick with him for these next couple of games, and in normal circumstances, it would be refreshing to see considering the short-term nature of football and the managerial cycle nowadays.

However, the Bluebirds have operated with five centre-backs against West Brom and Swansea City in recent games - and have gone on to lose both heavily with an insufficient amount of threat up front too.

If it was just one area of their game that they needed to perfect, the 62-year-old would have deserved the chance to turn things around at the Cardiff City Stadium.

But at this stage, he's failing to get the best out of star man Kieffer Moore, their defence looks brittle and they have an attack that currently looks devoid of any creativity or ideas - a real recipe for disaster in their quest to remain above the dotted line.

Two losses this week and he definitely deserves the sack, if not already, so this could end up being the most important 180 minutes of Championship football of McCarthy's managerial career.

He has the experience to drag them away from danger, but does he really have the ideas to make it happen?