LIke PNE, Bluebirds are waiting for lift-off

The Bluebirds make the midweek visit to Lancashire having won only one of their opening six Championship matches.

Such a statistic sounds familiar in these parts, with North End bettering the opposition just the once in league action.

Cardiff have two more points to their name courtesy of a couple of draws, putting them five places higher in the table than their Tuesday night hosts.

Like Simon Grayson, City head coach Paul Trollope thinks his side are on the right tracks, even if results have not gone their way.

Trollope said: “I don’t want it (play well and not win) to be a pattern that’s emerging.

“We can say the same from a few of the games that we’ve played.

“That’s the message to the players.

“We are still putting building blocks in place about how we play and what we’re trying to do.

“Sometimes as a manager or a coach, saying there are lots of positives to take in a defeat is an easy thing to do – you can get hammered for it.

“But I believe in what we’re doing and how we’re working.”

Cardiff were beaten 3-2 at Norwich on Saturday, their Lancashire-born striker Anthony Pilkington netting both goals.

Reflecting on the defeat, Trollope said: “We went there with a plan and were confident we could get something against a good Norwich side and I was pleased with the way we went about it.

“I don’t want to be known as one of those coaches who always comes and says, ‘We didn’t get what we deserved’, but I really thought that was the case.

“Having said that I was disappointed with the first two goals we conceded, they were both soft.

“The main positive from my point of view was the spirit the lads showed when they went 2-0 down.

“They showed what they are all about by making a real game of it.”

Trollope was named head coach by Cardiff in the summer.

He was previously on the coaching staff under Russell Slade.

The appointment of Trollope saw Slade moved ‘upstairs’ to a head of football role – he was in post for only a fortnight before leaving to take the manager’s job at Charlton.

Trollope is also part of Chris Coleman’s coaching staff with the Wales national team and the 44-year-old previously managed Bristol Rovers.

Cardiff were busy in the run-up to transfer deadline, Rickie Lambert among the arrivals after signing from West Bromwich.

Joe Bennett came from Aston Villa, with Ben Amos joining on loan from Bolton.

Keeper David Marshall was sold to Hull for a reported fee of £5m.