The Bluebirds boss spoke for the first time after being announced as manager
New Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut is eyeing up to 10 new signings to revamp a Bluebirds team which finished 21st in the division last season.
Bulut, who has signed a one-year deal with an option to trigger a further two if certain criteria is met, was speaking for the first time since being unveiled as Cardiff boss at the club’s Cardiff City Stadium. You can read what he said here.
Chairman Mehmet Dalman hailed him as an exciting appointment and one which hopefully signals the start of a “new trajectory” for a club which has slid down the table year on year since their relegation from the Premier League in 2019.
And to do that, they need new signings, despite being unable to pay for transfers. Their three superb loan players from last season – Sory Kaba, Cedric Kipre and Jaden Philogene – have all returned to their parent clubs and that talent will have to be replenished in the team.
Bulut said he watched a couple of Cardiff games last season and is looking forward to meeting with the players when they report back for pre-season in a few weeks’ time. However, he is under no illusion that the team needs reinforcements next season.
“I saw two games, so from there I already thought in my head that I had a system I wanted to play with the team. We have to discuss about that, but already I have in my head the players I want already,” Bulut said.
“We need in every department. Offensive department, Cardiff last season scored only 41 goals. Second bottom scorers.
“In attacking, we have to invest, in my opinion. Also in the midfield. Attacking is not only wingers, strikers, No.10. This will start from the back, from the goalkeeper.
“We have some players in our hand (to bring in). We will have to discuss about that. Some players we will have to search and make a start. I think from the club, their contracts are finished, seven of them.
“I have to see the players in training for the first 10 days to decide if they are players we will keep. I think around eight to 10 players can be possible.
“It will be a mix (of players from Britain and Europe), because the last few years it was British. So, not on the European market. In the European market there are good players, so we will search from them and bring that kind of players in to have that kind of success.”
Bulut was quizzed about the style of play he prefers to employ from the dugout and the key takeaway appeared to be adaptability.
“My style, my favourite, is 4-2-3-1, sometimes 4-3-3,” he said. “We can speak a lot about systems, 2-5-2, 4-4-2.
“But in the game, all my players should know what we have to do within the game. Sometimes it’s three at the back in a different system. At the start, it could look like a 4-2-3-1 but it could change, depending on what we have to do.”
Bulut is the club’s fifth manager in the space of two years, but already, incredibly, season ticket sales are up to close to 12,000. And the 48-year-old knows he needs every one of them if this club is to start moving in the right direction again.
“My message to the fans is that we need them. For every game. We need that support from the fans. The players can put maybe 10 or 20 percent more on the performance on the field (because of it),” he added.
“Patience is needed. Everything is new. In two or three weeks we cannot say we will win everything. We have to work on it. We have to take steps one by one. Not quickly. Step by step. We need the supporters to be strong.”
