Cardiff’s Purse Pines for Prem.

Cardiff City’s comitted and inspirational skipper Darren Purse is fit and ready for action having recovered from a dislocated disc in his back. Purse’s absence, ironically, has coincided with a good run for the Bluebirds, but he makes a timely return hoping to spark a charge up the table after losses to promotion rivals Birmingham City and West Brom have seen Cardiff City drop out of the play-off places.

The two games lost by Cardiff in Purse’s absence have been against two of his old clubs and whilst he would have loved to return, he could not take chances in this crucial run-in and he is not fully fit and available for the visit of Norwich City this weekend.

Purse, 30, is not certain of a starting place with Roger Johnson having played superbly in recent weeks and guided an inexperienced defence expertly through a tough patch. He is raring to go however and is determined to once again play in the Premiership:

‘I’ve spent four years in the Premier League in total with Birmingham and then West Brom so I’ve been there and I’d love to get back. I still think I’ve got a few good years left in me. As a central defender I’m still reaching my peak and I’m hoping that I’ll get another chance to play in the top flight. Our squad is very thin on the ground. Once we get a couple of injuries then it’s hard.’

‘But when we’ve got our first 11 out then we’re a match for anyone in the division. If we can get in the play-offs then anything can happen.’