Cardiff boss Neil Warnock axes plans to head to Tenerife to give players more time to spend with family
Bluebirds boss said the Emiliano Sala tragedy has made him re-evaluate priorities in his life
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NEIL WARNOCK has axed plans to take his Cardiff players on a break to Tenerife — and told them to spend time with their families instead.
The Bluebirds boss says the tragic loss of striker Emiliano Sala in a plane crash has made him re-evaluate his priorities and he is now keen to spend more time with his wife and kids.
Sala’s body was recovered from the English Channel last week — after the plane he and pilot David Ibbotson were in went missing on January 21.
Warnock, whose side have recorded back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and now Southampton to lift themselves out of the relegation zone, said he needs a break after the emotion of dealing with the tragedy.
He revealed: "The club gave me permission to fly out to Tenerife, to take them all for four days.
"But after what’s happened over the past two weeks, I’d rather cuddle my kids if I’m honest and see my missus, because it’s been a long two weeks.
"I’ve never known anything like this in my life and I’ve seen most things.
"The players will all be reflecting on what’s happened and I think your family is more important than football, isn’t it?
"The players are all booking different flights and some of them aren’t going anywhere. I’m going somewhere near Swansea for two nights."
Sol Bamba gave Cardiff a 69th-minute lead on Saturday before Jack Stephens looked to have earned Southampton a point when he poked in at the far post in the first minute of stoppage-time.
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But there was more late drama as Harry Arter’s initial shot was blocked before Victor Camarasa set up Kenneth Zohore to toe-poke the winner.
Defender Lee Peltier, who pulled off a fantastic double block with the score at 1-0, said it had been difficult coping with the death of new signing Sala, 28.
Peltier, 32, said: "It has been really tough. Everybody at the club has felt down about what happened and obviously all the boys have been very sad.
"We are a close-knit squad as it is but it has been devastating and very hard to describe because it has never happened to any of us before.
"It’s just so sad and it’s hard to concentrate on football with everything going on.
"It will be nice to have a few days off and spend it with our families and friends because, as we have seen, you don’t know what is around the corner and it gets you thinking."
Aron Gunnarsson believes the death of former Nantes star Sala has united the Bluebirds.
The midfielder, 29, added: “I stood there after the last home game looking at the fans, to see what kind of club it is.
"It brought everyone together — the performances, the fans, the lads and everyone around the club have been amazing at this difficult time.
"It has been really difficult but the boys have stuck together with everyone around the club. And, as our gaffer said after the game, this one was for Sala."