Cardiff City v Doncaster Rovers: O'Driscoll left 'gobsmacked' over Bellamy move

The Manchester City star has amazingly dropped out of the Premier League to play for his home-town club Cardiff City and will captain the Bluebirds this afternoon against Rovers.

The move has raised eyebrows at the Football League because of Cardiff's recent inability to meet tax deadlines and ongoing debts in the region of 30m.

O'Driscoll, however, insists there is nothing wrong with the loan move which has been helped to a major extent by Bellamy's willingness to play in the Welsh capital.

"I am still gobsmacked that Manchester City have got 25 players better than Craig Bellamy," said O'Driscoll, referring to new rules relating to squad sizes in the Premier League.

"But, if I was in (Cardiff manager) Dave Jones's shoes, I would be delighted that someone of that quality has got family in Cardiff. I just wish he had family in Doncaster because maybe we could have got him.

"I don't know what problems Cardiff have got but we all live in debt, we all have mortgages, and the whole world revolves around debt," added the Rovers manager.

"As long as you are able to service those debts, people will lend you money, and I can't see the problem. If you have an opportunity to sign Craig Bellamy, you would be a fool to turn it down."

Bellamy, 31, made his last appearance in the Championship just over a decade ago for Norwich City against Barnsley.

He has subsequently played for a host of top British clubs including Newcastle, Celtic, Liverpool and West Ham United, and moved to Manchester City in a 14m deal in January, 2009.

Rovers captain Brian Stock is a Wales team-mate of Bellamy's and sent the striker a text message in midweek asking him to delay the move until next week.

O'Driscoll had rated Cardiff as one of the top two teams in the Championship – even before the acquisition of Bellamy – and knows that his side will face a major test this afternoon.

"We have to be brave but we don't treat the game any differently just because Craig Bellamy is playing," he stressed. "If we did that I would be asking questions. We are a team that has to live with resources that are not as good as everyone else's – and there are certain boxes we have to tick every week to give ourselves a chance."