Cardiff sack Neil Harris after sixth successive defeat

Cardiff have sacked manager Neil Harris after a run of six straight defeats.

Harris was appointed in November 2019 and leaves the Cardiff City Stadium with the Bluebirds 15th in the Sky Bet Championship, 13 points from the play-off places.

Cardiff owner Vincent Tan told the club website: “I’d like to thank Neil and David (Livermore, assistant manager) sincerely for their hard work at Cardiff City.

“Their efforts to propel us towards a fifth-place finish and play-off position last year are recognised and appreciated, although sadly we are in a result-orientated business and our on-field results of late and progress this season has been very poor.

“As such, we have had no choice but to relieve them of their duties in an effort to improve results and league position with a change of manager.

“I’d like to personally wish Neil and David the very best with their future undertakings and endeavours.

“They will always be welcome faces at Cardiff City Stadium and I wish them good luck and good health. God bless.”

Harris, the former Millwall manager, succeeded Neil Warnock 14 months ago with Cardiff 14th in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League.

The 43-year-old oversaw a revival for Cardiff to make the top six, but their hopes of returning to the top flight were dashed by a play-off semi-final defeat to Fulham.

Wales pair Harry Wilson and Kieffer Moore were recruited in the summer transfer window and optimism of a promotion challenge in the Welsh capital was high.

Harris was left in no doubt as to what the club’s ambitions were when chairman Mehmet Dalman said in October that he would be “disappointed” if Cardiff were not in the top six by January.

Cardiff were three points off the play-off places after beating Birmingham in mid-December.

But six successive defeats – five in the league and an FA Cup exit at Nottingham Forest – ended Harris’ reign, with the final straw proving to be Wednesday’s 1-0 home defeat to QPR.

Harris’ departure leaves Tan looking to appoint an eighth manager in his 11 years at Cardiff.

But the Cardiff players were seemingly unaware that Harris had left the club, according to Bluebirds midfielder Lee Tomlin on Thursday evening.

Tomlin, responding to a journalist’s tweet that Harris had left Cardiff, replied: “Is this true? We ain’t even been told a thing.”