Cardiff have named Mick McCarthy as manager for the rest of the season following the sacking of Neil Harris.
Harris departed after six straight defeats had left Cardiff 15th in the Championship, closer to the relegation zone than the play-offs.
Ex-Republic of Ireland and Wolves boss McCarthy, 61, left Cypriot champions Apoel earlier this month.
“I want to get the Club back to winning games and I want to get smiles back on the players’ faces,” McCarthy said.
“If we do that, then we’ll get smiles back on the fans.
“We’ve got a good squad of players and I’m looking forward to getting down to work.”
McCarthy will be assisted by former Swansea City striker Terry Connor, who was his right hand man at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ipswich Town and the Republic of Ireland.
James Rowberry and Andy Dibble will remain as part of the coaching team as first team coach and goalkeeping coach respectively.
“I’ve enjoyed the brief talk I’ve had with Mick,” Cardiff owner Vincent Tan said.
“I’m confident that he’s the right man to take on the responsibility of improving our performances and fortunes.”
Cardiff’s next Championship game is on Wednesday, 27 January at Barnsley, McCarthy’s hometown club and where he began his professional playing career.
McCarthy inherits a Cardiff side low on confidence after a run of five successive defeats in the Championship and six in all competitions.
Harris, who succeeded Neil Warnock as Bluebirds boss in November 2019, had led the team to the Championship’s play-off semi-finals last season.
However, his side failed to reach the same heights during this campaign, which Cardiff started by winning only three of their first 13 matches.
They recovered with a run of four consecutive victories between November and December, but since then the Welsh side have lost seven of their eight fixtures.
Cardiff have turned to the vastly experienced McCarthy, who has won promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland and Wolves over the course of a managerial career dating back to 1992.
He has also had two stints in charge of the Republic of Ireland and managed Ipswich between 2012 and 2018.
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