QPR and Millwall rivals close to managerial appointment in huge relief for Charlton Athletic

QPR and Millwall rivals Cardiff City appear to be edging closer to a new managerial appointment, in what will also come as a relief for London outfit Charlton Athletic.

The Welsh side has been without a manager for almost three weeks having parted ways with Erol Bulut on September 22. The Bluebirds had endured a poor start to the Championship season with just one point from their opening six fixtures.

Omar Riza has been overseeing the team on an interim basis and results have improved. Cardiff City beat Millwall last week and picked up a point having made the short trip to Bristol City last weekend.

Marti Cifuentes’ R’s side face Cardiff City for the first time this season at the end of November, making the trip to Wales before hosting the reverse fixture in early April.

Cardiff City talks with ex West Ham and West Brom man

Despite an upturn in Cardiff form, a new managerial appointment is expected and could be made during the international break. Several candidates had been linked with the role but it is now former West Ham and West Brom boss Slaven Bilic who has emerged as a clear frontrunner.

Wales Online report that the club has held talks with the 56-year-old, who is available for work having terminated his contract at Saudi side Al-Fateh this summer.

News of a potential Bilic appointment is a relief for Charlton Athletic, with Nathan Jones also a rumoured candidate for the post. The Welshman grew up a Cardiff City fan and has made no secret of his ambitions to coach the side.

Jones has only been at The Valley since February and has turned the side from relegation candidates into promotion hopefuls. His latest coup was a win against high-flying Birmingham City last weekend, which ended a run of three defeats in a row.

Nathan Jones on supporter ‘abuse’

Speaking after the game, Jones confronted some supporter unrest at those result amid the backdrop of links with a move away. The manager said: "There's been a lot of noise this week. I got abused by my own fans the other day. Absolutely abused by my own fans and questioned about my selection and who should be playing. We had to make big, bold, sane decisions and we did.

"I'm really proud of the group today. I'm really proud of the coaching staff and everything. We didn't panic. We made bold decisions. No one had gone after Birmingham as we have there and we got our result.

"It's a message to fans, if you want to get behind something then get behind something, there's going to be some bad performances now and again but we've given them more good times than bad at the moment. If people want to trust us and trust me to manage a football club, then fine. If they want to pick teams themselves then come in, I'll have my money and move somewhere else."