Malky Mackay spoke of his pride for his Cardiff history-makers after a 1-1 draw at Burnley sealed the npower Championship title.
The Bluebirds confirmed they would be playing top flight football with Tuesday night's home stalemate against Charlton. Craig Conway fired a first-half opener at Turf Moor as City looked to be on the way to a first second tier crown in their history in some style before David Edgar's header shortly after 90 minutes elapsed snatched a point for the hosts.
It did not stop Cardiff's players drenching themselves in champagne afterwards before their vocal travelling support and Mackay cut a satisfied figure. "It's absolutely fantastic, I'm delighted for everyone at the football club,'' he said.
"It was obviously a tremendous feeling on Tuesday night but for us to go and win the title is something that we then spoke about within a day. We wanted to go and get the boys their medal and win the championship. We've been sitting there since late November and it's been an awful long time for us to be top and be chased and be examined. I think they deserve it.
"I'm delighted that we've had the mental strength and character to have that consistency and just keep going, being relentless. That's what we were this year - relentless. I spoke to them about (how) most people get to watch history happen; very few people get to actually make history. For them to do that for the city of Cardiff is something that I'm very proud of.''
Burnley manager Sean Dyche was quick to pay tribute to former Watford team-mate Mackay and his team. He said: "They've done a great job, it must be said - Malky, his troops, his staff, his player have done a fantastic job. We all know, we've seen it this year, it's as tight as ever. It's a tough league, make no mistake.''
Burnley were fortunate not to be further behind at the break as Cardiff turned in a swashbuckling first 45 minutes inspired by the pace and invention of Conway and Kim. Despite this and Burnley's precarious position in the Championship table - they edged four points clear of the relegation zone before the three o'clock kick-offs having won once in nine games -
Dyche elected not to rant and rave before sending on substitutes Edgar and Martin Paterson for the start of the second half. "We had a chat at half-time more than anything and I said, 'Lads, just relax and play. Play with that freedom and that energy','' he explained.
"I mentioned it several times. It's more difficult than you think - you've got a crowd expecting, you've got an opposition who are the market leaders and I knew Malky would go hard and their team wouldn't just back off. They've got some real talent there.
"It was more a case of telling them to relax and play with energy. There were a couple of tactical changes and obviously one of them worked nicely.''
Source: PA
