Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut has backed goalkeeper Alex Runarsson after he was criticised by supporters.
Bulut made it clear he is under no pressure from Arsenal to play the 28-year-old Iceland international, who is on loan at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Runarsson has been preferred in the past three Championship games to Jak Alnwick, despite criticism from some Cardiff fans on social media.
“I heard about it [criticism]but I am not of that opinion,” Bulut said.
“In the last game at Southampton, with the two goals we conceded he could not do anything.
“So if we want to speak about mistakes we can speak about many things but not that Alex Runarsson made a mistake and we conceded a goal.
“Against Preston, maybe it was tough with the goal he conceded, that was a difficult situation.
“We have to see the whole picture, where the mistake starts and ends.”
Bulut says every player makes errors and added: “I will never say in front of the press that certain players have made mistakes and we lost. You will never hear that from me. I will speak individually to my players.
“I will never say because of one person we won or lost. We are a team and we win together and we lose together.”
Runarsson is likely to start the Championship home game against Millwall on Saturday, though Bulut is aware his season long loan signing has led to some of the criticism.
“All of them [the players] are on social media. So when I get it [criticism] he gets it too,” he said.
“We support him like I support all my players. I spoke to Jak, he has played some great games for us, but he lost a bit of confidence after the Watford game.
“He is a great guy and we have two great goalkeepers. We will continue with Alex, but there will be a day when we continue with Jak. They have to support each other.”
Bulut dismissed any talk of being under pressure from Arsenal to play loanee Runarsson, who cost the Premier League leaders £1.8m when he signed from Dijon in September 2020.
“For sure that is not (the case),” said Bulut. “He is 28, for a goalkeeper that is nothing. He is very good with the ball …. some mistakes will happen, that has happened to many big goalkeepers.
“So you cannot say if you make one mistake you are out. I will not say this to my players to put them under pressure.”
Cardiff have no fresh injury worries with Wales captain Aaron Ramsey and Irish international Callum O’Dowda not expected to return until January.
Meanwhile, Bulut has played down speculation linking the Bluebirds with Trabzonspor’s Greece captain Anastasios Bakasetas and Besiktas player Salih Ucan in the January window, insisting they are out of Cardiff’s price range.
