Cardiff City: Vincent Tan may regret resisting big Omer Riza call | OneFootball

Omer Riza's immediate future at Cardiff City is in the spotlight right now

Cardiff City are a side in free fall at the minute, with their hopes of achieving Championship survival slipping by each passing week.

The Bluebirds could never have envisaged finding themselves entrenched in a third second-tier relegation battle inside four seasons heading into this term, having finished 12th under Erol Bulut last time out.

However, the ex-Fenerbache boss was dismissed after leading Cardiff to a historically disastrous start to the season. That saw Bulut succeeded by Omer Riza, who was in charge for two months on an interim basis before finally being appointed full-time in December amid much deliberation.

While it would be a fair assessment to say Cardiff have improved under Riza - they could not have done worse than Bulut's reign in this term's opening quarters, that's for sure - results as of late have taken a significant turn for the worse and the Bluebirds are in increasing danger of suffering relegation to League One for the first time in more than 20 years.

Cardiff City's relegation battle

Cardiff looked to be on course to steer clear of any tangible relegation worry when they mounted an impressive seven-match unbeaten streak in league action across January, which included a 3-0 thrashing of bitter rivals Swansea City and victories over Watford and Derby County.

However, they were rocked by a chastening 7-0 demolition at the hands of Leeds United on February 1 and are arguably yet to pick up the pieces - winning just two of their last nine games.

In that time, Cardiff have lost to Portsmouth, drawn at Plymouth Argyle and, most notably, slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home to 23rd-placed Luton Town, their third in as many Championship outings.

Riza's side are outside of the relegation zone for now, but one must fear that is subject to change before long. Defeat to the Hatters closed the gap to just two points, while bottom-placed Plymouth showed signs of life by winning at Portsmouth on Wednesday evening and Derby now appear resurgent under John Eustace, who has masterminded successive - and impressive - victories over play-off chasing duo Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City.

The Rams may just be the team to watch as far as Cardiff are concerned, and they're now only one point and one place below the Bluebirds.

Vincent Tan may regret resisting big Omer Riza, Cardiff City call

Riza's tenure at the Cardiff City Stadium has long divided supporters, though many now appear to be in unison when it comes to where the 45-year-old's future should lie. Tuesday's defeat to Luton was a turning point for some, and it was no surprise to see Riza's side booed off at full-time.

Pressure is mounting on Riza to put it right, but with such little time to spare and so many precious points all dropped, concern is at an all-time high. Cardiff, as it stands, are sleepwalking into the third-tier and Riza will shoulder his fair share of responsibility.

After enjoying a fine start to life by winning four of his first seven matches to lift Cardiff off bottom spot, he has won the same amount in the last 24 matches. It's a miserable record, all things considered, and City's home form - the third-worst in the division - remains a real issue.

As per a recent report from BBC Sport Wales, the club's hierarchy are "aware" of the feeling among supporters. The prospect of parting ways with Riza cannot be dismissed, and much will likely hinge on Saturday's trip to Blackburn before this month's international break commences.

It was felt that Boxing Day's harrowing 3-2 loss at relegation rivals Oxford United presented the best opportunity for Cardiff to part ways with Riza. That affair came as Cardiff's sixth defeat in nine outings and the nature of the loss, which saw the away side go 3-0 down before saving face ever-so-slightly through late goals from Cian Ashford and Callum Robinson, was alarming.

At that point in time, Cardiff had scope to acquire a potential replacement who could have helped their survival bid while building the foundations for more ambitious success in 2025/26. The likes of Steve Cooper, ex-U's head coach Des Buckingham, Mark Robins and Steve Schumacher were all available and would have represented shrewd appointments.

Now, though, both Robins and Schumacher have since moved on to Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers respectively, and you do have to wonder just how many managers would be willing to take the job at this late stage and with Cardiff in such dire straits.