As disappointed as he is at the controversial departure of head of recruitment Iain Moody, Malky Mackay will not walk out on Cardiff City.
The 41-year-old led the Bluebirds to the Premier League last season, and they have made a steady start to life in the top-flight including a memorable 3-2 win over title favourites Manchester City back in August. However, there are signs of unrest creeping into the club, with reports at the weekend suggesting there is a dispute between the players and club owner Vincent Tan over monies owed from last term’s bonuses.
Although this issue is now thought to have been resolved, the players are no longer thought to be happy for the Malaysian businessman to be in the dressing room on matchdays. And he has now upset Mackay by controversially suspending head of recruitment Moody, who has played a key role in bringing the likes of Fraizer Campbell, Steven Caulker, Andreas Cornelius and Gary Medel to the Welsh club in recent months.
It has not yet been confirmed why Moody has been suspended, but his replacement just so happens to be a friend of Tan’s son who has no previous experience in football. Indeed, it has been reported that Kazakhstani Alisher Apsalyamov, who is just 23-years-old, was painting walls at the Cardiff City stadium as little as three months ago.
Mackay has a solid relationship with Moody, and is said to be hugely disappointed with this development. However, the Daily Mail understands the former Scotland international, who has also managed Watford, has no intention of resigning his position, and he will fully expect to be in the dugout in less than two weeks when the Premier League resumes with a daunting trip to Stamford Bridge to face Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.
Tan was naturally applauded by the fans for helping Cardiff to the top-flight for the first time in 53 years, but he has never been too far away from controversy. Most notably of all he changed the colour of their home kit from blue to red, and has even hinted at changing the name of the club. He also appointed his friend Simon Lim as chief executive, so his latest move, whilst a big disappointment to Mackay, will come of little surprise.
