Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Monday, February 12.
Colwill: I've improved but it's not enough
Rubin Colwill has offered a candid appraisal of his performances so far this season, admitting he wants to improve further despite making good strides after an injury-hit campaign last year.
Colwill has arguably been the form player for Cardiff in the last couple of months but has not really had the goals nor the assists to show for it. That being said, after an injury-ravaged 2022/23 season, a crucial juncture in his career, it has been heartening for City fans to see him go from strength to strength this term.
Speaking to the club's programme about his season, he said: "I'm pretty happy with how it's gone. I've been working really hard behind the scenes and I'm doing as well as I can in training. I'm trying to raise my level and hopefully people can see that in my performances over the last few weeks and the progress I've made.
"But it's not enough for me; I want to keep improving, keep becoming a better player, from now until the end of the season I want to win as many games as possible, but also improve as much as I can. It's an exciting time for me.
"I like to play in different positions. I think if I play in the middle, I like to drift wide sometimes, drop deep or push a little bit higher. That's just a ntural part of my game. I like to move into different areas, see where the opposition is weak and exploit those areas.
"My versatility is one of my skills and I do enjoy the challenge of being put in different places and trying to perform, so playing in the position I am now allows me to do that."
READ MORE: Cardiff City's attack is muddled, slow and needs a total rethink
Erol Bulut recently appears to have placed more trust in Colwill, who has two goals and three assists this term, and rightly so. Indeed, it was a bit of a shock to see him out of the starting lineup for the defeat by Preston North End at the weekend. But the Wales international is happy with his relationship with the manager, who has also seen a big improvement in Colwill.
"He's one of those managers who is trying to help – he'll always say things to you and then it's up to you to improve on it," he added. "He spoke with me about the defensive side of my game when he first came in and I've worked really hard this season to try and improve that. I feel like I have improved and I think he sees that as well.
"That's why I have been playing more and have been in a deeper role sometimes as well. He's given me guidance on a few tactical things, like where and when to move the ball, where to be at certain times. He's also told me to be more relaxed and trust that the ball will come to me. He's helped me with loads of things and I've just been trying to tick them off and keep improving."
Leahy seals move after Tanner advice
Former Cardiff academy attacker Jack Leahy has moved to Ollie Tanner's old club after the Bluebirds winger's advice.
Leahy was let go by Cardiff last summer and snapped up by Steve Morison at Hornchurch. However, that move didn't work out and he left for Isthmian South Central side Chipstead, for whom he scored four times in 18 games.
And the 21-year-old has now moved to Lewes FC, in the Isthmian Premier League, where Cardiff signed Tanner from, on loan for the rest of the season.
Manager Tony Russell said: "Jack is good friends with Ollie Tanner from their time at Cardiff together, so Jack was really keen to come in with us from what he heard from Ollie.
“It was a pretty easy one on that front. I’m looking forward to working with him and also excited to see what he can bring to the team and, in turn, helping him get back on track with his football.”
Bulut: We must forget Preston loss and bounce back at WBA
Erol Bulut has told his players to forget the defeat by Preston North End on the weekend and bounce back with a win against West Brom tomorrow night.
The Bluebirds travel to The Hawthorns for midweek action and will hope to put in a better display than they did at the weekend.
"They are a good team." Bulut said. "They are trying to be in the top six. On Tuesday they will try everything, but we will try everything to get points from them.
"We have a very close period with games every three days. We don't have so many days for training, because we are resting, preparing and then we have the next game.
"They drew in Ipswich on Saturday, a tough game for them. If you remember our first game against them, we were close to winning, but we got an unlucky shot from them.
"We have to be focused on the game and concentrate. I said to my players we have to forget the game from the weekend quickly, and everybody has to be prepared."
Swans end Bluebirds' undefeated record in derby clash
Cardiff City Women's almost two-year unbeaten run came to an end with a South Wales derby loss at the hands of Swansea City this weekend.
The Bluebirds had been undefeated in the Adran Premier since March 2022, having won the league last season, but Iain Darbyshire's side suffered a loss for the first time this season as the Swans grabbed a 2-0 win in the Welsh capital.
Chloe Chivers and Katie Hosford were on the score sheet for the Swans, who now sit five points behind Cardiff, who still remain top of the table. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
Darbyshire said: “Our unbeaten record has been a fantastic achievement and something that we are proud of as a whole club. We came up short today, but we remain in a positive position going into phase two and we’ll keep positive ahead of the last six matches of the season.
“At the start of phase two, many of our injured players, who missed out today, will be back with us and we’re going to continue to work really hard to have a successful end to the campaign. We’re five points clear and have two cup semi-finals to look forward to, so it’s an exciting time ahead for us.
“The support that we had today was brilliant; it shows how far we’ve come as a women’s programme and it’s really appreciated by myself, the staff and the players.”
