Ollie Tanner says Cardiff City are turning pre-season relegation talk into fuel as they prepare to visit Molineux on Saturday to face Wolverhampton Wanderers. The 24-year-old forward said being written off has given the squad extra fire ahead of a match that now carries more weight because of where Cardiff City have got to already.
That matters because Cardiff City were among the pre-season favourites for relegation with some bookmakers, yet they are 16th in the Championship after 12 games and above Wrexham. They have lost just once in their last five games, a run that has altered the tone around the club far more quickly than many expected when the campaign began.
Tanner has been part of that shift. He has started every Championship game so far this season and has scored two goals in his last three games, form that has sharpened his voice when he talks about criticism. He said people doubting Cardiff City before the season gives him more motivation to prove them wrong, and added that the team sees each game as another chance to show what it can do to the league, to itself, to its fans and to everyone watching.
He was just as direct about the noise around his own performances. Tanner said people are entitled to their opinions and that criticism from some fans does not bother him, because football moves quickly and praise can disappear just as fast as it arrives. For him, the answer is simple: keep going, keep producing and let the results do the talking.
That is why Saturday matters beyond the usual league points. Cardiff City are no longer trying to avoid the label others put on them before the season; they are trying to make that label look premature. If they carry their current momentum into Molineux, the talk around them will shift again — and this time it may be harder to dismiss.
