Bulut targets Premier League with Cardiff

Manager Erol Bulut says his goal is to manage in the Premier League and he hopes to do it with Cardiff City.

After finally ending speculation about his future by singing a new two-year deal to stay with the Bluebirds, Bulut has now revealed his lofty ambitions.

Speaking to SportBox, Bulut said: "To be honest, my goal is to become a manager in the Premier League and lead our team to success there.

"I hope I can achieve this with Cardiff this season.

"In the coming years, I can coach in the top league of the world with Cardiff and achieve more success.

"As I have always said, my goal has always been the highest level. Will I succeed? We will see it together."

Bulut took over last summer, finishing in 12th place in the Championship in his first season.

That was a big improvement on the relegation battles Cardiff had faced in their previous two campaigns.

But in the SportBox interview, Bulut also revealed some of the problems he faced when first taking over in south Wales.

"There was such an environment that when I started at Cardiff," he added, "our own players didn't want to renew their contract.

"There was such a troubled situation in the club that nobody wanted to renew the contract.

"We went to the [pre-season] camp in Portugal, we created a good atmosphere in the camp, there was a good atmosphere.

"The goal was to stay in the league at the beginning of the season.

"Suddenly the mood was 'Will we be a play-off team, will we make it to the Premier League?'

"We created such a situation. I hope we can build on it this year, too. If we make good transfers, we want to push for the play-offs."