Reality of a small squad starting to show... but Bluebirds boss still feels their summer strategy was the right one

CARDIFF City are just beginning to feel the effects of the transfer strategy that defined their summer - but Brian Barry-Murphy remains fully convinced it was the right call.

- GLEN WILLIAMS Football Writer [e-mail]

The Bluebirds head coach made it his mission to streamline an inflated squad after taking charge following relegation, with more than a dozen players leaving and only three new signings arriving.

The result is one of the youngest and leanest squads in League One - and, for the most part, the approach has paid off.

Cardiff are top of the table and through to the Carabao Cup quarterfinals, where they will face Chelsea next month.

But after an electric start in which they went unbeaten in their first 10 matches under Barry-Murphy, they have now lost five of their last 10 in all competitions, including Saturday's FA Cup exit at Peterborough United.

It’s perhaps the first genuine sign of inconsistency over a lengthy period creeping into a youthful squad that has so far matched the club's expectations and ambitions of promotion this season.

Barry-Murphy has acknowledged the inconsistency, however he believes it’s incumbent upon himself and his staff to stamp out these inconsistent displays - highlighted by the the poor weekend performances sandwiching a fantastic cup win at Wrexham - and eke out the most of what he describes as a very talented dressing room.