Cardiff City

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Former Cardiff City striker Michael Chopra says managing the Bluebirds in League One is the "perfect opportunity" for Aaron Ramsey.

Ramsey has been in interim charge following the sacking of Omer Riza but has been unable to prevent the club's relegation to the third tier.

The Wales captain has indicated he would like to continue his playing career, though his contract with the Welsh club expires at the end of the season.

"I think he's got the pedigree, there won't be much pressure on him in League One," Chopra told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"If Cardiff stayed in the Championship I would have been a bit wary of giving him the job but I think it's the perfect opportunity for Aaron Ramsey and hopefully Chris Gunter because they've got great football knowledge.

"He knows the area, he's a Cardiff fan. If he's not going to get a chance at Cardiff City, where else is he going to get a chance of being a football manager?"

The Cardiff City Supporters' Trust have called for a meeting with owner Vincent Tan to discuss a number of matters including a "lack of specialist football experience and knowledge at club board level".

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Chopra - who made 145 appearances and scored 65 goals for Cardiff across four spells all under manager Dave Jones - believes the club should appoint a director of football.

And he names Jones (pictured above with Chopra) along with former teammate and Shamrock Rovers sporting director Stephen McPhail as potential contenders.

"You just need someone who knows the club and knows football," Chopra added.

"There are people making decisions, footballing decisions that don't really know what's going on, on the pitch or what needs to happen behind the scenes.

"I get on really well with the people on the board, I like them as people. But to not turn up to football games to follow the team, when you are board members and things like that, I think it's a little bit disrespectful.

Chopra believes the club is missing a philosophy.

"I speak to a lot of Cardiff fans and they hate me saying this but you look at Swansea, they had a philosophy at that football club even when I was playing against them," he said.

"They would play a certain way, a certain type of formation and a certain pattern of play. And no matter what manager came into that football club, they had to buy into that philosophy.

"Now when Cardiff City employ a manager, they want to bring their own players in, they want to change the system and the way the team plays and they've had seven managers in the last four years."

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Robert Earnshaw reckons old club Cardiff City are facing two of their "biggest games ever" as they fight to stay in the Championship.

Second-bottom Cardiff are three points adrift of safety heading into the final week of a miserable season.

Caretaker boss Aaron Ramsey's side host West Bromwich Albion on Saturday before a final-day trip to Norwich City.

Realistically, they need a minimum of four points from the two games to have any chance of avoiding the drop – but it could be that two victories are not enough to lift Cardiff out of the bottom three.

Ex-Cardiff and Wales striker Earnshaw says this weekend's meeting with another of his former clubs is "a must-win" if Ramsey is to oversee a great escape.

"You have got two cup finals, one against West Brom and then the last game against Norwich," Earnshaw told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"You have got to get minimum four points because of the goal difference. Cardiff's goal difference is not good.

"It's two cups finals to keep Cardiff City in the league. Listen, it's going to be two of the biggest games for Cardiff City ever because you don't want to drop down to League One."

Cardiff are in need an upturn in form to give themselves of hope of survival having claimed only one victory in their past 10 league games.

They have won successive matches on only one occasion this season, when they saw off Plymouth and Portsmouth at the Cardiff City Stadium in October.

The Welsh club have not played in the third tier of English football since 2003 – but Earnshaw fears they may be stuck there for a while if they do go down.

"You look at the likes of Portsmouth, Bolton, all of these teams who have been down there for years, teams that were in the Premier League finding it very difficult to come back [up from League One]," he added.

"To be honest it doesn't look good for Cardiff City. I am worried. But I have hope and I am going to be cheering on Cardiff City and Aaron Ramsey."

Having both sacked their managers over Easter Weekend, Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion will meet on Saturday (15:00 BST) with ambitions of staying alive on either side of the table.

The Bluebirds will be under the charge of Wales captain Aaron Ramsey after sacking Omar Riza following their defeat to Sheffield United on Friday.

The Welshman's first game at the helm culminated in a 1-1 draw with Oxford, keeping them afloat in the relegation fight with three points between them and safety.

While former Albion midfielder James Morrison replaces Tony Mowbray, who lost his position after a 3-1 loss to Derby County on Monday, for the first time as the Baggies look to keep their fleeting hopes of the play-offs alive.

• Cardiff are winless in their last seven league games against West Brom (D4 L3), failing to score in five of these matches.

• West Brom have won two of their last three away league games against Cardiff (D1), as many as in their previous 11 visits (D6 L3).

• Cardiff have won just one of their last 10 league games (D4 L5), and are winless in six since beating Blackburn 2-1 in March.

• West Brom have lost five of their last six league games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 30 (W8 D17).

• West Brom are winless in their last 14 away league games (D7 L7). It's their longest run since a run of 15 between September 2017 and March 2018, while they've never gone 15 without a win on the road outside the top-flight.

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Defender Calum Chambers has "every belief" that Cardiff City can still retain their Championship status but says they must win their final two games of the season.

The Bluebirds are three points from safety with West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City still left to play.

A win at home to West Brom would take Cardiff's relegation fight to the final fixture at Carrow Road. A draw will mean they will have to rely on other results to prolong their season, while a defeat will almost certainly see them relegated because of their goal difference.

"We know what we need to do and what's required," said Chambers.

"All our focus is on the next game [against West Brom] and it's a must win for us to get three points.

"As a group, we all know that is the game we need to go and win, so we are all focused on that and that's what we are doing our best to do.

"I have every belief in this team and squad, the whole season I've been saying the same thing. It's unfortunate the situation we are in, it's down to us now to put it right and go out and win the remaining two games we've got - that's all we can do."

Chambers says everyone at the club takes "accountability" for the Bluebirds' predicament but says there is no single reason for the poor campaign.

"You can't point your finger at one thing," added Chambers.

"It's a collective, there are things that haven't gone right for us throughout the season, there's not one thing you can say that it's down to - it's a collective of things.

"Everyone has to take accountability for that. We are all aware of where we are, so no one needs telling in the dressing room or around the club.

"We are just doing everything we can to get it right."

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Iwan Roberts says Aaron Ramsey should manage Cardiff City next season regardless of what division the Bluebirds are in.

Cardiff are fighting to stay in the Championship having won only one of their past 10 league games.

Ramsey was named caretaker boss following the sacking of Omer Riza last weekend but has suggested he wants to continue playing beyond this season.

The Wales captain led Cardiff to a 1-1 draw with Oxford United in his first match in charge on Monday.

That result leaves Cardiff deep in relegation danger in 23rd, three points behind 21st-placed Derby with only Saturday's home game against West Brom and a trip to Norwich City remaining in what has been a miserable campaign.

Former Wales striker Roberts says that regardless of what happens in the final week of the season, 34-year-old Ramsey should take charge for the long term.

"He still wants to play – is his body going to allow him [to do that]? I think this is the natural progression for Aaron with all the injuries he has had for quite a long period," Roberts told this week's Feast of Football podcast.

"I think he's ready made to be a head coach. He is ready to go. Whatever happens, I would love him to be in that technical box for Cardiff next season, in the Championship or League One."

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Roberts says that despite his lack of managerial experience, former Arsenal and Juventus player Ramsey has "all the attributes" required to be Cardiff boss.

"He looks like a manager, he sounds like a manager, he talks like a manager," he added.

"He is an intelligent young man. He is in the process of getting his coaching qualifications.

"He has played for some outstanding managers at the clubs he's been at. I think he's definitely one for the future."

Roberts believes Ramsey could yet guide Cardiff to safety – but reckons only two victories will give them a survival chance.

"It's become desperate," he said.

"The daft thing is, I think if they can win their last two, I still think they have got a chance of staying up."

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It will be a case of caretaker bosses all round as Cardiff City attempt to save themselves from relegation to League One over the next two weekends.

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey is attempting to find his feet in the Cardiff dugout, having been parachuted in for their final three games of a miserable season following the departure of Omer Riza.

Ramsey's brief spell as interim manager began with a home draw against Oxford United on Monday, which leaves Cardiff deep in trouble heading into the final week of the Championship season.

The Bluebirds are three points adrift of safety, meaning they may need wins in both their remaining fixtures – at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and at Norwich City seven days later – to preserve their second-tier status.

In what or may not be good news, Ramsey will be up against two other rookie bosses in both those matches.

West Brom will be led by former Albion and Scotland midfielder James Morrison (above), who has been placed in caretaker charge following the dismissal of head coach Tony Mowbray earlier this week.

And when Cardiff go to Carrow Road, Ramsey will pit his wits against his old Arsenal midfield colleague Jack Wilshere (below).

The former England international is at the helm for the final two games of Norwich's underwhelming season after head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup was relieved of his duties on Tuesday.

Remarkably, therefore, Ramsey will be the most experienced manager in each of Cardiff's two remaining games, given that he already has one game under his belt.

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Cardiff City have put "unfair" pressure on Aaron Ramsey by asking the Wales captain to lead the Bluebirds in their final three games of the season, according to Robert Earnshaw.

Midfielder Ramsey, 34, who is currently injured, will oversee his side's games against Oxford United, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City as the Bluebirds bid to preserve their Championship status.

It comes after Omer Riza was sacked by the club following a run of just one win in nine Championship matches - which leaves Cardiff in 23rd place, a point adrift of safety.

But former Wales and Cardiff striker Earnshaw says he has sympathy for 86-cap Wales international Ramsey for being tasked with keeping the Bluebirds in the second tier.

"It's a bit of a weird decision," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"From my point of view, Rambo [Ramsey], Chris Gunter [who will assist Ramsey], those are brilliant guys, those two have got bright futures, I think they're brilliant guys.

"But I just thought, from the club, it was very unfair to put Rambo, as a player right now, injured, in charge and say to him 'get us out of trouble'.

"I just thought it was a very unfair type of pressure. Aaron's going to get asked 'will you take the team for the last three games?'. Aaron's not going to say 'no', of course he's not.

"If you're going to give it to him, give it to him in the summer. I don't think it's fair on the fans."

Ramsey will be the third person to lead Cardiff this season following the departures of Riza and Erol Bulut.

And Earnshaw feels Cardiff are suffering due to a succession of poor decisions made by the club's hierarchy.

"It's a shot at nothing. There's no pressure on Aaron, if he does this, it'll be amazing," added Earnshaw.

"I think they need to win three out of three, and that's the type of pressure that I'm saying is unfair.

"I hope Ramsey can do it. He wants to become a coach, I know he's been working at it. He definitely would have woken up on Saturday morning not expecting a call to say 'do you want to take the team?'. That is very unusual.

"It just shows a bunch of bad decisions from the club. Erol Bulut last summer was almost going into pre-season not knowing which Cardiff City manager was going to be in charge.

"Then he gets it, then a few games later he's gone. Omer Riza takes over, he's here supposedly until the end of the season, then he's gone before the end of the season.

"There's been a few bad decisions and it's just putting a lot of pressure on the football club right now."