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Cardiff City are proving they will not be “bullied” by League One’s more physically-imposing teams, says Bluebirds midfielder Ryan Wintle.
Cardiff are four points clear at the top of the table as they aim to make an instant return to the Championship following last season’s relegation.
Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy, who was appointed in the summer, has led his team to the summit by instilling an adventurous, possession-based style of play.
He has also built his team around young players and academy graduates, who have occasionally struggled against the division’s direct and abrasive sides.
But Cardiff overcame one such team, Stevenage – who were until then third in the table and unbeaten at home – in a hard-fought 1-0 away win on Tuesday to underline their promotion credentials.
“Stevenage away, people would say it was a tough place and they’d just keep loading the ball on top of us,” said Wintle, as the Bluebirds prepared to host Doncaster on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
“It wasn’t a pretty game, but we dug in well and our quality showed at the end with Cal [Callum Robinson] coming on and scoring a great finish.
“The belief is that as long as you do the hard stuff and the dirty stuff, that teams are going to try and bully us, then our football will show and we’ll win the game.
“Everyone’s going to have their own way of playing and that’s credit to them. They [Stevenage] are near the top of the league for doing that well.
“But we can’t play like that – it’s not us. We’ve got a group that would probably struggle to play like that, if we were like that we’d be towards the bottom of the table.
“So we’ve got to play the way that gets the best out of our players and that’s the way we play at the minute and we’re doing it well.”
Wintle is enjoying Cardiff’s new brand of football under Barry-Murphy, particularly as he is back in the first-team picture after time on the periphery.
The 28-year-old spent last season on loan at Millwall, but has started 15 of Cardiff’s 18 League One games in this campaign.
Wintle also captained the team in the win over Huddersfield earlier this month, wearing the armband for the first time since the 2023-24 season in the Championship.
“I’m loving it. With this manager, everyone has to be ready,” he added.
“You’ve got to make sure you’re playing well to keep your shirt. If you don’t, you’ll be out because we’ve got players sat on the bench that probably should play every week as well.”
Barry-Murphy has shown he is willing to rotate his players and bench senior figures such as Republic of Ireland forward Robinson, England international defender Calum Chambers and Perry Ng, who was voted Cardiff’s player of the year in the Championship.
All three have demonstrated they have a role to play, however, and the former Manchester City Under-21s coach has so far been vindicated with the faith he has shown in younger players.
“I think if we didn’t have Bri as the manager, there would be a bit of unknown, uncertainty in players, especially the older players, you think, ‘Oh, can we do it?’,” Wintle said.
“Myself and Perry have played League One and League Two for a few years when we were younger and we know it’s not easy. You can get bullied and eaten up but, with this manager, the way we play, it gives everyone freedom and you feel like you can’t get it wrong.
“So for me and for the young lads, it’s brilliant. Everyone knows their role and you feel like you go out there and you know exactly what’s going to happen.”
