• Premier League

Mackay expected Cardiff sacking

ESPN staff
December 23, 2013
Malky Mackay has been backed by the club's supporters © Getty Images
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Malky Mackay believed he would lose his job at Cardiff City after receiving an email from Vincent Tan that he admitted "deeply upset him".

Mackay, 41, guided the Bluebirds to promotion from the Championship last season after taking up the post in 2011.

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Currently 15th in the Premier League table, Cardiff have endured a recent power struggle between owner Vincent Tan and Mackay after the Malaysian businessman sent an email to his manager last week demanding he resign or face the sack.

Backed by the club's supporters, who chanted "don't sack Mackay" during Saturday's 3-1 defeat away to Liverpool, reports have seen Sven-Goran Eriksson linked with the role.

With his future still uncertain, the Scottish coach has admitted to feeling hurt over the events that have transpired, in particular the email, believing he was genuinely set to lose his job.

"I did feel I was going to lose my job on the weekend," he told WalesOnline. "The email deeply upset me. I declined to resign and expected to be sacked over the weekend. To give the fans a clap was something I wanted to do for the support they had given me.

"I don't know if we can talk. [chairman] Mehmet [Dalman] has been trying to do this for three months, as have I. There are certain areas that have to be addressed that were in the email. I will find out when I go to the meeting. At that point I will take stock of where I am. The club has worked very well in the last couple of years, especially when Gethin Jenkins, Alan Whitely and TG were here. Mehmet Dalman gives us a stable hand but the owner is a man who makes the decisions.

"I will not resign. I love my job here. I love working and living in Cardiff and I'm proud of my team and I have a determination to look after that. Our fans are the lifeblood of the club. When I'm gone and the owner is gone the fans will be the lifeblood of the club.

"I am thankful for the way they have got behind the club. The players have trained as they always do. We have gone through our structure of a normal day today and I have not lost focus. We have big games to prepare for and no matter what goes on, that's my number one focus for this club and it always will be. My representative has been talking to Mehmet in recent days because I have been busy looking after the football side."

Mackay also confirmed that he will meet with Tan and Dalman in the coming weeks to discuss the situation further, conceding that ultimately his future remains in the hands of the club's owner.

"It's good of the club to offer that [meeting]." he added. "Mehmet is a good man and a sensible man. But he's not the man who makes the decisions. Ultimately he will not make the decision. That still has to be addressed. There is no more pressure on me now. The team are working so hard and have come up with reasonable performances and good results. I'm proud to be the manager here and I think I should be the manager here. I will keep doing what I'm doing and if someone wants to do something different that's up to them."

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