Cardiff City's chances of appointing Steve Cooper become clearer | OneFootball

Former Swansea City and Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has been ruled out of contention for the Cardiff City job following recent reports

Despite reports claiming that former Swansea City and Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper would "relish the opportunity" to cross the South Wales divide and succeed Erol Bulut at Cardiff City, the Welshman is not in contention to take over.

That's according to a crucial recent update from WalesOnline's Bluebirds correspondent Glen Williams, who has reported that Cooper has his sights set higher after becoming available following his sacking from Premier League side Leicester City.

The Foxes parted ways with Cooper after a mixed start to their return to English football's top-flight and he naturally surfaced as a reported contender to become the 12th permanent managerial appointment in 14 years for Cardiff under Vincent Tan, who now appears no closer to making that elusive call in spite of significant uncertainty and criticism from supporters as of late.

Cardiff are currently competing at the wrong end of the Championship table and they find themselves in 20th position, just two points above 22nd-placed Hull City.

More concerning, however, is the continued lack of clarity regarding the club's direction and strategy, which many will argue is displayed profoundly in the fact that it has now been more than two months since the September sacking of Bulut.

The Turk was relieved of his duties following Cardiff's worst-ever start to a league campaign and was then temporarily replaced by first-team coach Omer Riza, though he's been in situ ever since on an interim basis without any clear indication of whether he's actually in line to be appointed full-time despite flying out to Malaysia to hold talks with Tan in the last international break.

The Bluebirds' Fan Advisory Board recently published an open letter to the Cardiff board urging change at such a crucial juncture, and they'll perhaps be feeling even more dejected in the knowledge that Cooper has been ruled out of the running.

Steve Cooper isn't going to become Vincent Tan's next managerial hire at Cardiff City

An update linking Cooper to the vacant managerial hot-seat at the Cardiff City Stadium was initially published by Press Association reporter Phil Blanche, who wrote via his X account that the Pontypridd-born boss would "relish the opportunity" to take over the Bluebirds, though he held concerns about how supporters would react given his Swansea past.

Cooper, of course, spent two seasons down the road in SA1 and Swansea recorded successive play-off finishes under his tuition, a feat which hasn't been replicated since. While the majority of supporters would have more reservations towards his assistant, ex-Jack Army stalwart Alan Tate, it's now believed that Cooper isn't going to be joining Cardiff.

Williams' aforementioned report details that it's understood the Cardiff job isn't the right opportunity for Cooper, whose last two jobs have been at Premier League level with Leicester and Nottingham Forest. It's suggested that he's setting his sights higher and could be angling for his next destination to be another top-flight club or one in the Championship in with a genuine shot at promotion.

Interestingly, the report adds that crossing the South Wales divide would likely not be an issue for Cooper, who is said to have respect for Cardiff. Whether that leaves the door open ajar for the future remains to be seen, of course, but for the time being it seems as though there's no chance of him becoming the next man at the helm.

It's certainly not the news which Cardiff supporters wanted to hear. Although there have been some reservations owing to Cooper's history down the M4 and the likelihood that any potential appointment would see him accompanied by Tate, he does represent exactly what Cardiff need at this point in time from a managerial perspective.

Cooper has a solid body of work behind him, having taken over Nottingham Forest when they found themselves in a similar position to Cardiff back in 2021 before guiding the Reds back to the Premier League via the play-offs that same season. He's the type of manager capable of steadily building a team and offering progressive continuity alongside relative success, having thrice finished inside the top-six at this level.

But with Cooper now out of contention, Cardiff simply cannot allow the state of uncertainty to go on for much longer. Revolt from fans is growing and with good reason, while it seems unlikely the team can kick on without a permanent manager - be it Riza or someone else - in charge, with that momentum which had been generated under the ex-Watford coach long gone by now.