Tony Pulis tells Cardiff City the exact appointment they need to make and how close he came to job
The former Stoke City and West Brom boss believes the Bluebirds have to get this appointment right
Tony Pulis
(Image: PA Wire )
Tony Pulis believes Cardiff City have to appoint an extra footballing person to their board, citing the work Craig Gardner has done at recently-promoted Birmingham City.
The Bluebirds are closing in on the appointment of a new manager following the sacking of Omer Riza and relegation from the Championship, however many fans believe they need to hire more than just a new head coach.
Supporters have long called for a more robust footballing structure at the club, with great responsibility falling on too few shoulders. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community
And Pulis, who has enjoyed a stellar managerial career with the likes of Stoke City, Crystal Palace, West Brom and Middlesbrough, agrees that Vincent Tan must look beyond appointing only a manager this summer.
Gardner, a former midfielder for Aston Villa, Sunderland and Birmingham City, was appointed technical director at Blues in 2021 before being named director of football earlier this year, charged with driving the club's football strategy, playing identity, recruitment, squad development and performance.
Pulis believes Gardner's appointment has been inspired at Birmingham and the Welshman hopes that if Cardiff can follow their lead, they can also follow the Midlands club in solving issues within the club and bouncing out of League One at the first time of asking.
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"Whoever they appoint, again, they have to appoint someone who they believe will get them out of that league," Pulis told BoyleSports, who offer the latest Football odds.
"If you look at Birmingham, there was all sorts of stuff going on at Birmingham for quite a while, they got relegated and it's all doom and gloom.
"They ended up, you know, readdressing everything at the football club, Craig Gardner has done a fantastic job behind the scenes, putting an infrastructure in place.
"The American owners have allowed Craig to get on with it. I've had Craig at two clubs. He's a very, very intelligent boy, very down to earth, meat and potatoes man, but very, very knowledgeable about what's needed.
"I think he's done a fantastic job there. Cardiff need someone like that to go in there and pick a good manager and to get the club organised behind the scenes, I think there's loads of stuff going on at Cardiff that shouldn't even be mentioned but it is mentioned at that football club.
"It's a great football club, it's big, it's the capital city of a country, it's the only club in that city and the potential there, the support potential is just enormous. It needs someone to go in there and really sort the place out and that's not just at first team level, that's right through the football club.
"I really do think they need that. I've mentioned Craig doing that at Birmingham and what he's achieved and everything else, Cardiff need someone like him to go in there and do that."
While Cardiff near their next managerial appointment, it can be said with a great degree of certainty that it will not be Pulis. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
The 67-year-old has been linked with the Bluebirds job on a number of occasions and revealed he came close to getting the gig once or twice, too.
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"I came close to getting the Wales job a couple of times and Cardiff a couple of times as well but it never transpired," he added.
"It wasn't right for both parties at the time.
"But right now I'm sitting in my house in the South of England and I'm quite happy where I am!"
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