Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy has revealed owner Vincent Tan's continued drive to improve the club and promised supporters that the January transfer business will give them reason for excitement.
The Bluebirds have enjoyed a significant upturn in fortunes in recent weeks, taking 10 points from their last five Championship matches to climb the table and put their difficult start to the campaign behind them.
That run has prompted some supporters to begin dreaming of a potential push for the play-offs, which have been extended to include the top eight this season, although such talk is premature with only 12 league matches played.
Tan's mentality drives improvement
Barry-Murphy is determined to ensure Cardiff do not rest on their laurels, revealing that Tan has made it clear that improvement must be relentless, regardless of results. The City boss fully embraces this mentality.
"I like his mentality," Barry-Murphy said of the Malaysian businessman. "What I saw from him in the summer and what I've seen from him pretty much every day since I've come to the club is, when you do well you can do better, and when you don't do well you have to do better."
"It's a very straightforward way of working and I think he leaves very little up to interpretation. You're always very clear on what he expects and what we have to deliver, so it's fine."
Barry-Murphy has developed a strong working relationship with Tan since arriving in the Welsh capital last summer, with the pair aligned in their ambition to keep driving the club forward. While the owner has often been a demanding figure during his time at Cardiff, Barry-Murphy believes that clarity of expectation is a positive rather than a hindrance.
"I think it's very healthy," he added. "Complications can arise when you're not really clear on what you have to do. I agree with it and I like his mindset of, when you do well, you always have to try and do better because it keeps you very hungry."
Recent form shows progress
That hunger for improvement has been evident in Cardiff's recent performances, with the Bluebirds showing they can compete against some of the Championship's strongest sides. Their impressive display in the 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough, where they surrendered a two-goal lead but nevertheless emerged with a valuable point, and a win over high-flying Birmingham City were further evidence of the progress being made under Barry-Murphy.
With the gap to the play-off places beginning to narrow, supporters are naturally starting to look upwards rather than over their shoulders. Asked whether he was keen to temper expectations among fans eyeing a place in the top eight, Barry-Murphy was unequivocal.
"Fans can do what they want," he said. "Fans of Cardiff can do what they want. They pay a lot of money and support the club everywhere and anywhere, so they can do whatever they want!"
But while supporters are entitled to dream, Barry-Murphy knows there is still considerable work to be done if his side are to mount a serious challenge in the second half of the campaign.
January window plans
One area that could prove crucial is the January transfer window. Cardiff deliberately resisted the temptation to stockpile players during the summer, with Barry-Murphy insistent on recruiting the right characters and quality rather than simply adding numbers.
That approach has left the Bluebirds stretched at times, particularly in central defence, where injuries have severely tested the depth of an already small squad. However, the manager has no regrets about the club's summer business and believes the work being undertaken behind the scenes will put Cardiff in a strong position to strengthen in January.
"There was a lot of comment at the end of August that we were short on numbers," he said. "I still don't regret the fact that we didn't bring the players in that we didn't want. I think it was very important that we didn't just stockpile players for the sake of it."
"I think we have to accept that we have been short over the course of the season. When it comes to January, the work that's been done behind the scenes has really impressed me. There's been much talk about our football department and how it's structured, but Patrick's led that department brilliantly in all aspects of the club."
Barry-Murphy stopped short of putting a number on how many players he would like to recruit, but made clear that Cardiff are preparing for different possibilities, including permanent deals and loans. Despite acknowledging that the club cannot simply throw huge sums of money at the problem, he offered an encouraging message to supporters about the calibre of players being targeted.
"Whenever we identify whatever targets we do, there's always flexibility," he explained. "Permanent signings or loan signings, we have to be ready for both because we can't presume that our owner or our supporters are going to fund massive transfer fees. So we're ready for all eventualities and the players that we hope to bring to the club in January, I think, will excite the supporters."
Away test at Wolves
Cardiff face another stern examination of their progress when they travel to Wolves on Saturday. The Midlands club boast considerable resources following their time in the Premier League and represent the latest challenge in a demanding run of fixtures for Barry-Murphy's side.
Cardiff are still searching for their first away league victory of the season, having come agonisingly close at Middlesbrough earlier this month. Despite the growing optimism surrounding his team, Barry-Murphy is refusing to get carried away.
"The nature of this league is you can't get too carried away because the next game is Wolves," he said. "If that's not enough of a focus, then I don't know what is. Obviously, their squad depth and size is reflective of a team that was in the Premier League last season. We know how good they are. We've prepared very intensely and all of our focus is on Saturday's game already."
But the Cardiff boss insists his players will not be intimidated by their opponents' pedigree or resources. "We're a very big club with a huge supporter base," he said. "When we go up to them on Saturday, we respect them but we're not afraid of them, so we're going to try and win."
