It's been ten games since former Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy took over as Cardiff boss, and ten games since they've been beaten.
McCarthy and the Bluebirds downed Wayne Rooney's Derby on Tuesday night in a 4-0 win. Goals came from Leandro Bacuna with a brace, Will Vaulks and Kieffer Moore.
When McCarthy took over from Neil Harris in January - Cardiff were 15th in the Championship, having lost six games on the trot. His record of seven wins and three draws from their last ten speaks for itself.
Cardiff now sit sixth in the Championship and in playoff contention. The Bluebirds last featured in the Premier League in 2013-2014, having spent a single season in the top flight.
There's no point having your head in the clouds. Everybody gives you a pat on the back but suddenly there's a knife in their hand. I don't get carried away by that stuff. There's a lot of good teams in this league and we'll just keep pecking away.
The 4-0 defeat was Wayne Rooney's largest during his tenure as Derby manager. McCarthy is restoring his reputation of sorts, after serving short stint in Cyprus with APOEL Nicosia. In that time, he managed eight games, losing five.
If you lose it's all doom and gloom and sack the manager. Now we're flying and we're in the play-offs, we're getting promoted. You won't get me carried away with it. It's a lovely time when you're winning football matches, but you've got to win the next match.
Both managers mentioned the hectic schedule in their post-match interviews. McCarthy's Cardiff side are out again on Friday with an away trip to Huddersfield. A jovial McCarthy put an emphasis on recovery and looking ahead.
We’ll try and get some kip tonight! They’ll be in tomorrow for a lot of TLC; massages, ice and rubs. It’s a physically difficult time for them all, and they have to recover really quickly. We’ll be back in tomorrow recovering, but everybody is happy and things are good, so long may that continue.
McCarthy has a history of helping teams gain promotion. He won the Championship with Sunderland in 2005 and Wolves in 2009. He also helped guide Millwall and Ipswich Town to playoff appearances in 1994 and 2015.
Whether Cardiff can sustain their good run of form is the real test now for McCarthy.
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