Star brands Cardiff City stay 'worst time of my career' and reveals his head 'flew off' in Warnock meeting

The defender said his time in the Welsh capital was not what he wanted it to be

14:07, 23 Apr 2024

Greg Cunningham has opened up on his time at Cardiff City (Image: Getty Images)

Former Bluebirds defender Greg Cunningham has said his stay at Cardiff City was the worst time of his career.

Cunninhgam was signed for £4million from Preston North End after the Bluebirds achieved promotion to the Premier League under Neil Warnock.

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However, the season didn't exactly go as planned for the Republic of Ireland left-back, who played second fiddle to Joe Bennett for practically the entirety of the campaign. He played just 14 times in two-and-a-half years at Cardiff, a stay which was punctuated by loans and a nasty injury.

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Speaking to the official PNE podcast, he said: "It's mad, because Cardiff was probably the worst time in my career - and it should've been the best.

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“Although I ticked the box, lived the dream and got some Prem games, psychologically, mentally and emotionally, it was the worst time in my career. I went there and it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down.

“You have conversations that ultimately don't happen, when you go there. I had gone into my last year and wanted to stay. I was enjoying the project under Alex Neil and really enjoying my football under him. It was the season where there was no doubt in my mind - just get in there (the play-offs), because when we get in there, we are winning and then there's a one-off at Wembley."

Having left Preston in search of Premier League football, Cunningham said he was not part of Neil Warnock's "core group" of players and, at times, felt like a scapegoat. Sign up to our Cardiff City newsletter here.

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The 33-year-old, who is back at Deepdale, remembers the meeting he had with the manager after Cardiff had lost 5-1 just before Christmas 2018, just a few days before that Victor Camarasa winner at the King Power Stadium against Leicester.

Asked if he'd had any dressing downs from managers, he replied; "Yeah, Neil Warnock. And he didn't do it to everyone. He had his core group and that's fine. I wasn't part of it. I posed the question of why he had brought me to the club. I remember we lost to (Manchester) United, at home, 5-1, I got dropped for the next game (against Crystal Palace), which was fine, I didn't play much so I was expecting it.

"Then, we were leaving for Leicester and Kevin Blackwell says, 'the gaffer wants to see you in the video room.'

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"I go in and I see a big United crest on the screen, I look at him and he tells me to sit down. He goes through the five goals and I get blamed for the five goals.

"I think it was around Christmas time and it got to the point when I was like, 'No, I ain't having this' and my head flew off. We had a few words. I said I was being used as a scapegoat.

"He started getting agitated and Blackwell was trying to calm everything and I said, 'No, it's b******s, you're just having me off, I'm a scapegoat'. Then he took a phone call and I said 'fair enough' and went on the bus, just red.

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"Then I was on the phone to the old man, on the phone to the agent, like 'f***, get me out of here.'

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"Then I get to the hotel and he is like, 'Greg, son, over here, you're starting tomorrow'. And you're just like, 'What?' I played against Leicester the next day and we won 1-0!"

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Cunningham returned to Preston in January 2021 and has gone on to feature regularly for them, having clocked up 184 appearances across two stints for the Championship club.