Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut will ‘never give up’ after poor start

Bulut appeared to be under pressure following Cardiff’s latest defeat to Derby County on Saturday, refusing to give interviews after the 1-0 defeat at Pride Park.

Bulut was banned from the touchline at Derby following his red card at Swansea City last month. While the ban did not prevent him from giving interviews at Pride Park, Bulut handed over his media duties to assistant coach Omer Riza.

This disappointing start to Bulut’s second season comes after the former Fenerbahce coach made major improvements in his first season.

Before Bulut’s arrival, Cardiff had faced two successive battles to avoid relegation, but with the former Turkey Under-21 international at the helm they finished a comfortable 12th in the Championship table.

In doing so, Bulut became the first Bluebirds manager to last a full season since Neil Warnock took charge of the 2018-19 campaign, which ended with relegation from the Premier League.

This season, however, the Bluebirds have again achieved the same results and performances as in previous seasons.

“It’s the first time in my career that I have such a start,” said Bulut.

“What I also don’t like is that when media or social media writes about something to criticize me or my work, I don’t like that. Because it’s not true.

“You have to be honest. When everything is going well, everything is fine; when you lose a few times, there is no one next to you. That is not new. Now I can at least see who is really next to us and who is not. That is the point. Now I see real fans and real people who are next to us.

“When we win, everyone is with us. When we lose as a team, who is with us? When I see stupid things on social media about my players or myself, I don’t need that. If you are with us or with Cardiff City, you have to stay with us until we die.”