Sky Sports Chris Kamara thinks City will go up

Last updated : 12 February 2003 By Michael Morris
The Division Two promotion race looks like going right to the wire, but I still think Cardiff City will join Wigan in going up automatically.


I know Crewe are currently in second spot and playing some great football as ever, but if I was a betting man, I would put my money on Lennie Lawrence's men on going straight up.

Although nothing in football is certain, Wigan appear to be home and dry and now it is all about that second spot for Cardiff, because I really could see them failing in the play-offs. The pressure and expectation on them from Sam Hammam, not to mention their supporters, could prove too much in the post-season, which is why they need to finish second.

Looking at their squad on paper it is certainly good enough to hold their own in Division One already and you could be critical and say that they've under-achieved so far, given their financial clout and calibre of players.

But with an old hand like Lennie Lawrence at the helm, and Robert Earnshaw still scoring freely, I expect them to come good in the run-in.

As for the play-offs, you can perm four of six or seven. Right now it is impossible to predict, but what I will say is that one club always comes from nowhere to snatch a spot right at the death.

Right now, I expect that club to come from Plymouth, Luton, Tramere or Blackpool, who look to have found their form again.

One club will always drop out of that top six and the pressure will grow, game-by-game on Bristol City, QPR and Oldham, who really need to sort their home form out because I think their superb away form will come to an end soon.

Should Crewe miss out on the automatic spot - and believe me, Dario Gradi will be looking at the title and not third place - I do think they will cope best with the thrills and spills of post-season. Nothing will phase them and it will boil down to how the managers handle it, and there are none better or more experienced than Dario.

Paul Jewell has done a fantastic job at Wigan and showed what a good manager he is and the likes of Lawrence, Gradi, Danny Wilson, Ian Holloway and Ian Dowie will now start to earn their money as nerve-ends become frayed and every point counts.

It will be close, as I've said, but expect Cardiff and Wigan to wave good-bye to the division - and thrive in Division One.