Down, but not out... rebuild around their

Right, enough of the doom and gloom.

- PAUL ABBANDONATO

Cardiff City may be in League One, with Stevenage, Lincoln and Mansfield among the opposition next season, rather than Southampton, Leicester and Middlesbrough.

They may be run in a baffling way which angers so many, making ridiculous decisions like appointing Omer Riza as manager - then compounding the error by keeping him for 37 matches which it was abundantly clear he was taking Wales' capital city club down.

Vincent Tan may talk of a review of structures, when cynics reckon nothing tangible is likely to change.

We know the above. But... there is also a huge BUT. This is still a football club with so much going for it.

A wonderfully passionate, and large, fan base just desperate for the hierarchy to get it right.

When the Bluebirds were in the Premier League not so far back they boasted the 11th highest attendances in the division.

So outside of the traditional big six, plus powerhouses like Everton, Newcastle and West Ham, Cardiff were neck and neck for next best with recently crowned champions Leicester.

Not bad for a relegated side. That support, latent or not, is crying out to be tapped into.

They own a fabulous modern stadium. A new training ground is being built, we're told. They have a thriving Academy system.

And despite everything that's just gone wrong, they also possess a generational crop of talented young players who the future needs to be built around.

That future can yet be blue.

For way too much time the dressing room, in my view, appears to have been dominated by under-performing senior stars.

That needs to be turned totally on its head. Make the young guns the new kingpins, let them grow together, in League One, then hopefully the Championship again and one day perhaps even the Premier League.

Let the effervescence, enthusiasm, pace and no-fear approach they offer become the nucleus of the side.