Neil Warnock must defy awful Liverpool record to boost Cardiff survival hopes and dent Reds title dreams

Neil Warnock joked after a seemingly fatal defeat at Burnley last week that he might need to rely on his good record against Liverpool to get Cardiff out of relegation trouble.

Two things pointed to the fact that the Yorkshireman had tongue planted firmly in cheek: 1) the fiendish smile etched across his face and 2) the frankly woeful reality of that record.

Warnock has come up against the Reds on nine occasions in the last 18 years, doing so as manager of Notts County, Sheffield United, QPR, Crystal Palace and now Cardiff.

In that time, he has overseen two wins, one draw, and seven defeats, with one of those victories an ultimately overturned result in the first leg of a League Cup semi-final.

It is a history that adds up to a measly 0.7 points per game - and all that despite having more reason than most for wanting to beat Liverpool.

Warnock is famously yet to forgive the Merseyside club for what he sees as their role in Sheffield United’s relegation from the Premier League in 2007.

The Blades were sent down on the final day of that season by a home defeat to Wigan Athletic, whose victory saw them escape the drop by virtue of goal difference.

But it was the fact that Fulham, who finished a point ahead, had beaten a weakened Reds team eight days prior that attracted Warnock’s ire in the aftermath.

In keeping one eye on an upcoming Champions League final meeting with AC Milan, Rafael Benitez had effectively handed the Cottagers their first win since February, he believed.

And four years on, those wounds seemed not to have healed, despite Sheffield United having gone on to reach an out-of-court settlement with another relegation rival, West Ham United, over their signing of Carlos Tevez.

Speaking to Standard Sport in 2011, Warnock said: "I will never forget Liverpool. I thought about it again when I saw them lose at Fulham with a full strength side the other night.

“The team Benitez put out four years ago was a disgrace and you can't ever forget anything like that.

"It will always be there in my mind and I will always be bitter about it. The Premier League have changed the rules now, but that will always be a major disappointment for me."

Of course, a further eight years down the line, the enmity has noticeably eased, with the absence of Benitez no doubt helping.

But whether the rivalry of the past helped Warnock to whip up his teams against Liverpool or not, he is up against it when Cardiff host them on Sunday.

The Bluebirds represent arguably the worst-resourced side he has managed in the English top-flight; that he has even a slim chance of keeping them up is testament to his skill.

The Reds, meanwhile, are far less prone to a Fulham-style slip-up now than at any time since the inception of the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have taken 49 points from a possible 51 against the bottom 10 this season - a 1-1 draw at West Ham United in February their only misstep.

And so now would be a good time for Warnock to find a grain of truth in that quip about his Liverpool record.