Cardiff City goalkeeper Tom Heaton has given his public backing to the Cardiff City defence, who have looked shaky at times and remain the main area of concern as we look to consolidate our position at the top of the Championship.
With Anthony Gerrard on loan at Hull City, and Chris Riggott continually sidelined with injury – City are shot of centre-back cover with youngster Darcy Blake the only cover for Gyepes and Hudson. Both centre-backs, as well as Lee Naylor have come in for criticism and while Kevin McNaughton has been in good form, he has made several uncharacteristic errors in recent times after losing possession trying to shepherd the ball out of play.
Certainly, we are not so strong defensively as we are in attack and the thought of Mark Hudson being isolated against the pace of Scott Sinclair does not bear thinking about when Swansea visit on Sunday.
Additionally, Lee Naylor has looked vulnerable at times and has backed off when attacked at pace – the lively Nathan Dyer or Dave Cotterill could cause problems if given space on the Swans` right wing.
Bluebirds ‘keeper Tom Heaton has moved to support his back four and spoken in defense of his defense. He told the GTFM phone-in:
“Over the last few matches the back four have been settling down really well.”
“The players are coming together, working hard and building a unit. Certainly I feel comfortable playing behind them.”
“I`ve heard some criticism, but the proof is in the pudding. We have the second best defensive record in the league.”
“Yes, there are areas for improvement. That`s the case all over the pitch, but we defend well as a team and, as a unit, we are getting stronger.”
Heaton has performed well since displacing the out-of-sorts David Marshall. The former Manchester United stopper has been afforded good protection at times, while we have often managed to outscore opponents. A very good save against Simeon Jackson, and Wes Hoolahan helped his side to victory over Norwich City, while has was given no chance with Hoolahan`s header for the Canaries.
A clean sheet on Sunday would be a massive achievement for the Bluebirds, and will be the main aim of Heaton and his back four.
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