Erol Bulut comes out swinging in impassioned speech as Cardiff City boss takes aim at 'stupid' criticism

Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut has launched into an impassioned defence of his team and hit out at "stupid" criticism he has seen on social media amid mounting pressure following a winless start to the season.

Cardiff are bottom of the Championship with one goal and one point in their first five games, a record which has left many Bluebirds supporters despondent.

The Bluebirds have altered their style of play but have been unable to penetrate the opponents' goal in four of their five Championship games, with supporters now questioning a plethora of things including tactics, summer signings and team selection.

REPORT: Former Cardiff City forward charged with attempt to smuggle £600,000 of cannabis through airport

REPORT: Manager 'loves' Roko Simic as ref who incensed Leeds United is appointed

And Saturday's game against Leeds United has now taken on extra importance, with the need to get off the foot of the table looming large in supporters' minds. And the magnitude has certainly not escaped Bulut, who gave a passionate monologue about his team and the criticism he and they have faced.

"For us all the games are big games," he began. "We have to start from many weeks before. It’s normal that I have pressure, when you don’t have the results we are expecting - what the board and the fans are expecting, but I can live with this.

"It’s the first time in my career I’ve had a start like this. I am also living this at the moment. We have to be realistic. The opponents against us, how they created, what they created and what we created, they were not better than us, maybe Burnley we can put away. But all the other games we had chances to win a game or lead the game.

"But football is like this, when you don’t score and opponents score, you can’t change the results.

"It’s normal you get pressure. What I don’t like also, if media or social media are writing about something to criticise me or my work, this I don’t like. Because it’s not true.

"You have to be honest. When everything goes well, everything is fine, when you have a few losses, no one is next to you. This is not something new. At least now I can see who is really next to us and who is not next to us. This is the point. Now I see real fans and real people who are next to us.

"When we are winning, everyone is next to us. When we are losing as a team, then who is next to us? When I see stupid things on social media about my players or myself, I don’t need that. If you are with us or with Cardiff City, you have to be with us until we die. Not only when we are winning, I don’t need that.

"I am including everybody. I don’t care who takes it personally. It doesn’t matter who. I take everybody in. Fans, media, we have to be together, but we are not. You attack me after five games, one point, 11 goals conceded, fine. If everything goes bad, you try and make it bad, why didn’t you write them last season about these bad things? OK, you were writing a few bad things, that is normal.

"Then it was the style of play, how we play, now this is how we play, so now it’s the results? What is it? A few people were writing about something. I don’t want to talk about, I know who’s talking. But it’s not the moment to speak about that. We have to speak about results. We have to fight to get back. We have a team where we don’t have to be in this position now after the first five games. We have been a bit unlucky. The opponents have been more lucky than us.

"We didn’t score, we didn’t make the result. This is normal and then I get pressure. I accept that. But in Turkey we say that if you attack under the belt it’s not good, you need to stay on the level. But I can live with this. This is not my first team. I have trained a few teams, including Fenerbahce, then you can understand the pressure. It’s just the way (it’s written) I don’t like."

Rumours swirled following last weekend's defeat by Derby County that the club were considering Bulut's position. But he will get an opportunity to put some credit in the bank when they take on Daniel Farke's side this weekend.

And the fallout from the defeat at Derby was not lost on Bulut, who said he has a good relationship with those above him.

"With them I don’t have a problem," he said of the Bluebirds hierarchy. "I have my guys around me. Fans and fan pages deliver things. I have to see what messages come. I’m not on social media every day, but I want to say that when we are together we have to be together. Not only to show we are together. This club doesn’t need this.

"About details we can speak. Now we have to speak about being together, fighting together, getting results.

"I thank the fans, they support me a lot. The real Cardiff City fans, they support us. Every game. They travel with us and give everything for the club. It’s not like we don’t want [to win].

"We showed in pre-season and in games that we can do it - but we didn’t have the luck. You can say, is it luck? We have to do more. But opponents against us we didn’t allow them much. The few chances they create, they score, that’s the difference. That’s why we didn’t win games. A few games we could win - Sunderland, Middlesbrough, even the Derby game we had a chance to score. We conceded a chance from nothing. We also had some chances, four chances if I remember. They have one, they score.

"No one has to make everything bad. When someone has to pay for something, I have to pay, I have no problem with that. But I take the responsibility for everything."

Click here to read article