With their Championship status hanging perilously in the balance, Cardiff City simply have to start delivering. . . instantly.

The Bluebirds played out a familiar tale last time out as they blew a lead to draw 1-1 with Sheffield Wednesday at Cardiff City Stadium - with Michael Ihiekwe equalising for the Owls after Isaak Davies had given the home side an early lead.

It means Cardiff have won just nine of the 19 Championship games in which they have taken the lead this season - drawing eight and losing the other two.

To put it bluntly, the Bluebirds have won just 47% of the league matches in which they have taken the lead this season - the worst conversion rate in the second tier.

They also average 1.84 points from games in which they have taken the lead this season. Only Luton (1.79) and Oxford (1.7) have done worse.

Cardiff's total of 40 points is 13 worse than at the same stage last season. Even more shockingly, it is two lower than after 39 games in 2022-23 when they only stayed up by virtue of Reading being docked six points for breaching an agreed English Football League (EFL) business plan.

Only Plymouth have conceded more (77) than Cardiff's tally of 63 goals in the league this term.

To make matters worse, Derby beat Preston on Wednesday night to plunge Cardiff into the bottom three - with Swansea loanee Jerry Yates scoring and, of all people, former Bluebirds defender Nat Phillips assisting both of the Rams' goals.

So where does Omer Riza go from here?

Perhaps fortunately, his Cardiff team are preparing to face a Queens Park Rangers outfit that have quite frankly been abysmal of late.

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Martí Cifuentes's side have collected just one point from their last six matches - the most recent of which saw them lose 3-1 to fellow strugglers Stoke at the bet365 Stadium.

It means the Hoops themselves are now looking nervously over their shoulders having swiftly been dragged into the relegation picture.

Following the Sheffield Wednesday draw, Riza made the bold step to question the mentality of his players.

"It just seems to be an element of a mental thing with the boys," he said.

"We've spoken about it [mentality] a lot. 

"Until you're in this position you can never understand how difficult it is for them on the pitch. You have to keep plugging away and look to QPR on the weekend."

READ MORE: Omer Riza Points To Cardiff City’s Mentality As Reason For Dropped Points

Perhaps given their struggles when it comes to seeing out matches and holding on to leads, Riza has every right to question the mindset of his squad.

But the finger can also rightly be pointed at the manager himself - with fans once again criticising Riza's in-game management against the Owls.

This is an issue that arose as early as Riza's third game in charge as Cardiff snatched a draw from the jaws of victory against Bristol City at Ashton Gate in October.

Player mentality and questionable in-game substitutions and tactical alterations could all be used as evidence as to why Cardiff have claimed just eight points from games in which they have fallen behind in the Championship. Only four teams have managed fewer.

Cardiff's dramatic comeback win over Norwich in November was their only win from a losing position this season. Only Preston and Derby have won fewer matches than Cardiff after falling behind.

So it begs the question, are this crop of players capable of fighting when it matters most? Time will tell.

Is the manager capable of helping his players ride through seven more matches of twists and turns? Again, time will tell.

"This is not where Cardiff are supposed to be as a club, in my opinion," David Turnbull recently said of the club's current plight.

Losing hugely experienced midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Joe Ralls has done little to help Cardiff's cause, but the stark reality is that Cardiff only have themselves to blame for now having to prove they're good enough to get out of this mess - whether they're "supposed" to be in it or not.