Article: Chris Nokes

Dave Jones believes Cardiff City is going places. That was the overriding message from interviews with the press, conducted on Friday ahead of Saturday's home sell-out curtain opener against Southampton.

The full interview is now available in full on Cardiff World

"I don't think we've ever started a season with as strong a foundation before," claimed the City boss. "With being half an hour away from administration last year, it just shows how hard everyone, certainly the chairman and the board, have worked to put the club in a position they can look forward to. When you look across from Ninian Park to the new stadium it is unbelievable."

Dave also paid tribute to the support the Cardiff faithful have shown over the recent months.

"Fans vote with their feet. To get 12,000 people to go and see Ajax in a pre season friendly - when was the last time that happened? To sell out against Southampton is unbelievable, especially as for Cardiff fans Southampton is not perceived to be a massive game".

He added "14,000 season tickets is also fantastic. Hopefully, when we move into the new stadium there will be 24,000 season tickets sold. That's the ambition of the football club."

On preparations for Saturday, Dave said, "We've only got one injury and that's Tony Capaldi. The players are chomping at the bit. We've gone through the team for the game, but we have back up plans in case of illness or injury, so I hope was ready."

And on opponents Southampton. "They're a big club who, I believe, should never have come out of the Premiership," he said. "They had a poor season last year and they'll be looking to forget that. They have some experienced players like Gregorz Rasiak and Stern John who are threats. I have some friends at the club but that will go out of the window come 3pm on Saturday because I need three points."

Dave Jones also gave Bluebirds fans his opinion on new boy Jay Bothroyd who signed for the club this week, saying, "He's big, he's strong, he's quick. He's got a silky touch and can score goals. He needs some stability. He's been around and what he needs to do now is play football. It's not just Jay and Ross McCormack we have as options. We also have Paul Parry and Steve Thompson, who worked his socks off for pre-season training, so there's always options. Options we maybe didn't have last season because of lack of depth or injury."