Luton boss Graeme Jones was able to scout Cardiff in person last week and he highlighted the pace of the Bluebirds’ wide men as reasons why City are far more than a physical side, ahead of this afternoon’s Championship clash.
Town’s 3-3 draw last Friday night to kick-off the EFL season afforded the Hatters manager time to go to Wigan’s DW Stadium on Saturday and watch the Welsh side’s opener.
Having been relegated from the Premier League, they began life back in the second tier, with a 3-2 defeat. But Jones saw enough to know that his side’s first away day this term will be a tough one.
Jones said: “I was at the game. They’re a really, really effective football team who can cause you problems in general play and from set-plays, and we need to be aware of that.
“The two wingers were really, really quick, Josh Murphy on the left, the boy (Nathaniel Mendez-Laing) on the right, but they were a bit of a handful. We need to be aware of them.
“I worked with his brother Jacob Murphy at West Brom and they are so similar as players, winners, right-footers, coming inside, lightning quick, so we will make sure our team is aware of the threats and look forward to the game.
“There’s certainly nobody that I fear. Myself and the boys don’t enter a football pitch thinking like that. We have to be respectful of the opposition, but we also have to look at ways to hurt them, so it’s part of the preparation.
“We’ve got to get the preparation correct, make sure the players are aware of the style they’re going to face,” said Jones, adding: “It’s going to be a different style to Middlesbrough, that’s this league and we need to adapt.
“We need to be willing to adapt and we also need to assert our own style on the opposition, so I address every game on its own merits and I will on Saturday.”
But, from his scouting mission, the Town manager also saw that City are far more than a big, physical team, which is often a label placed on Bluebirds boss Neil Warnock’s sides.
Jones said: “They can be direct, but they can play as well. They’ve got a real variety in their play as well. Obviously, from set pieces they’re a major threat with their size. And they’ve got individual quality with the two wide men.
“(Joe) Ralls scored a really good goal at the weekend with a late run into the box. That can go undetected if you’re not aware of it, so they’ve got many, many threats.
“Making people aware is one thing but you also have to assert your own game plan and your own style on the game at the weekend. I think whoever does that the most will have a greater chance of getting a positive result.”
Yet, Jones knows his side will still experience a physical test unlike they’ve come across before, on account of City’s experiences in the top flight last term.
“(They’ve got) Premier League physicality, which no-one speaks about,” Jones said.
“I think you’ve seen a Championship physicality at times, that Middlesbrough showed and we showed, but they’ve got real Premier League physicality.
“Going back to Neil Warnock, there’s no way that’s going to be easy pickings on Saturday. Just the character of the man, he’ll make sure he gets a performance out of them, 100 per cent effort.
“So, if we get anything at Cardiff, we’ll have to earn it ourselves.”
