Spell at Rotherham United rekindled Warnock's passion as Cardiff extend Huddersfield Town's wait

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock during the Premier League match at the John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield.(Picture: Richard Sellers/PA).

The Cardiff City manager was back in his native Yorkshire this weekend, as his side shared a goalless draw with Huddersfield Town.

With the Terriers down to ten men for the final half-hour following Jonathan Hogg’s dismissal, the Bluebirds were left to rue a big missed opportunity but the 68-year-old is adamant that he is loving life back among the elite.

“I would have retired without my time at Rotherham,” said Warnock, about his three-month stint in the New York Stadium that saw the Millers beat the drop from the Championship against all the odds. “I bloody loved it at Rotherham.

“Being back in Yorkshire got me back in love with it. We had an amazing time.

“Everyone wrote us off because we were six points adrift with all the top teams to play. It was just amazing to do what we did with the players that we had and some of the places we were getting results.

“It was one of the best things in my career. It really got me going.”

Warnock left the Millers in the wake of that successful fight against relegation in May, 2016. He joined Cardiff a few months later and a record-breaking eighth promotion followed in May.

Neil Warnock's Cardiff drew 0-0 with Huddersfield in the Premier League on Saturday.

“Tony (Stewart), the chairman, was brilliant and I got that zest back,” he added. “If I had stayed, it would have been for the wrong reasons. It would have been for the money.

“What that time at Rotherham did do is get me thinking about my eighth promotion. I thought I’ve got to try and get a club where I have a chance of promotion and this was the only one who would take me!”

As for Cardiff’s goalless draw against the Terriers, Warnock added: “Everyone thought Huddersfield were going to beat us, lambs to the slaughter.

“I thought the way Huddersfield played was down to us. We closed everything down and they weren’t allowed to dictate.

“We play more football than people give us credit for. Mind, I did laugh last week when they said (on TV) that we had 53 per cent possession (against Newcastle).

“I thought to myself, ‘I will change that, I have a reputation to uphold’.”

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