Cardiff youngster pulled for talks after 'behavioural changes' (original) (raw)

Cian Ashford has been told to stay "engaged and enthusiastic" despite finding game-time tough to come by at Cardiff City.

The Wales youth international was afforded a few opportunities by his club at the end of last season and caught the eye with a stoppage-time winner against Southampton. Erol Bulut, the manager at the time, refused to send him out on loan this term, instead insisting he had a big part to play.

That hasn't quite transpired as of yet, with Ashford having played just 33 minutes of Championship football in a struggling team so far this term.

It will likely be a frustrating time for the 20-year-old, who will be desperate for game time in order to aid his progression. And his Wales under-21s boss Matty Jones called him in for a meeting last week to ensure Ashford didn't drop his levels in the face of adversity, instead urging him to show interim boss Omer Riza, or the next permanent manager, exactly why he was given his opportunities in the first place.

"I've had a couple of conversations with Cian. In fact I called a meeting with him last week, our head offices are obviously at The Vale and it's where Cian trains with the first team at Cardiff," Jones said.

"I noticed behavioural changes in camp. He's a young player with a huge amount of potential and attributes to go on and have huge success at Cardiff and, hopefully, for us with Wales as well.

"Interestingly, what I try to gauge and understand, even though there has been a lot of hype, recognition and success, he has also been through a difficult period. He has been training in a first-team environment, seen as a training player, as such, and I've been in those shoes myself. That can be quite deflating.

"You've been given an opportunity, as we saw towards the end of last season, so I've spoken to him a lot about staying engaged, being enthusiastic, doing exactly what he's done to get these opportunities, because maybe he hasn't got on or had the game time he has done previously.

"That's contributed to with what's happened with the difficulties under the previous manager at Cardiff (Bulut) and the strain and stress that causes. Opportunities for young players become few and far between then. Because you need faith and trust in young players and it's hard for them then. Players will never get there without the opportunities.

"I've had wonderful conversations with Cian. I think he might mature in terms of understanding that and the current situation he's in.

"But let's go back to the positives. He is super, super talented and a wonderful kid. And he's one I'm sure whose career will be very healthy moving forward for Cardiff and Wales."

Clearly, a team which is bottom of the league is hardly the right environment to coax through budding young talent. In another team, a team which regularly finds itself three or four goals to the good late on in matches, Ashford could quite easily have 50-plus appearances to his name by now. Sign up to our Cardiff City newsletter here.

Chopping and changing managers, who have different footballing philosophies or thoughts on bringing through youth, is also never conducive to nurturing players coming through the pathway, another difficulty for Ashford and the like at Cardiff.

The Bluebirds' interim boss, Riza, knows exactly what the Rhondda product can bring but admits himself that it's tough finding the right time to unleash his promising younger players.

"Coming from a youth development background, I have worked around young players for a long time in my coaching career, and recognising when people need that chat or to be able to come to you and know you're there is important," Riza said when asked about Ashford.

"I think we've got coaches around who recognise that as well. I have had conversations with Ash and I think sometimes his demeanour looks like he's not happy – but it's not that. He works hard and knows what he wants to achieve.

"There will be plenty of opportunity for him, hopefully, to play minutes this year. He is a quick player, we need pace and purpose. I'm always thinking of how we get Ash on the pitch at the right time.

"But everything has got to be at the right time, especially in these precarious moments in games, whether we have to shut up shop or be a bit more disciplined in what we are doing, it may not be the right time.

"But he is definitely somebody who can come on and be impactful. And I like his game, he is a powerful player and he is young. He burst on to the scene last year, but he's taken a bit of time over pre-season to get back to a point now where he will start to feature in the right games."

Cardiff fans, particularly those who follow the club's youth games and players, have been excited about Ashford's potential for years now. An injury hit him at an awful time in his development, but his goal record at academy level is off the scale. Translating that into meaningful Championship contributions, well, that's a hurdle at which many before him have fallen. But there is no doubt he has the potential to hit the heights of which many believe he is capable.

WHATSAPP: Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community

Ashford, who will be playing for Wales Under-21s in this international break, has had to drop down to Cardiff's under-21s in recent weeks in order for him to maintain his match sharpness, with first-team opportunities thin on the ground.

But Riza has told him he needs to continue to dominate in those youth-team games in order to ensure that he, or the next permanent manager who comes in, finds it impossible to ignore him.

"I think he has got to be a bit more impactful in training," Riza added. "He needs to show a bit more desire to work hard and he is doing that now. And we've had these conversations.

"When he gets these opportunities to play in the under-21s he really needs to dominate the game, which I think he is doing now. And he has to be patient.

"There are players who are in his position who are waiting and having to be patient, like Chris Willock at the minute, he's not getting on the pitch, Yak (Yakou Meite) is not getting on the pitch, Wilfried Kanga is not getting on the pitch. These are all forward players and senior players who have played a lot of games.

"But I don't look at that and say, 'Well, Ash isn't going to play because these boys are.' If he performs and there is something he can add to the game; pace, purpose, getting in beyond, half-yard strikes, things like that, that he is really good at, then he will play."