Jones in Disbelief

Cardiff manager Dave Jones was left in disbelief after hearing some of his players were out drinking 48 hours before the crucial clash against Middlesbrough.

The Bluebirds, who had to win to keep the pressure on sports betting favourites for promotion Norwich for the second automatic place, were blown away inside the first 20 minutes as Tony Mowbray’s side eased into a 3-0 lead.

Cardiff’s dismal performance left Norwich with the chance to claim promotion with a win against Portsmouth which they accepted thanks to a Simeon Jackson second-half header at Fratton Park.

Jones, whose side missed out on promotion last season after losing to Blackpool in the play-off final at Wembley, will be left amazed by reports that suggested his players, rather than going home after an end of season dinner, went into Cardiff city centre to carry on the party after Jones had initially told his players to stay off the alcohol.

The night out looked to have taken its toll as Cardiff were played off the park by Boro who were huge underdogs in terms of sports bets placed, who are languishing in mid-table with nothing left to play for this season.

Cardiff have been wanting to be the first Welsh side to progress into the Premier League and have done themselves no favours as they will have to settle for a place in the dreaded play-offs where they will face one of Swansea, Reading or Nottingham Forest.

Jones’ side boasts a number of experienced players that should no better before such a huge game, and a game they were expected to win to ensure they take the fight for second place into the final day of the season.

Cardiff have been given the tag of ‘bottlers’ before due to their demise in 2009 when they needed a point in their final game of the season against Sheffield Wednesday but lost 1-0 to fall out of the play-offs and miss out on the chance of promotion.

The Bluebirds’ players will have a lot of making up to do to their manager Jones and their fans and the only way they can do that is by winning the play-offs.