Sean Morrison knows he made the right decision.

And yet it might have been very different.

If it hadn't been for Neil Warnock's unwavering belief in the Cardiff City captain, a burgeoning relationship with Sol Bamba and a deep sense that 'something special' was happening with the Bluebirds, Morrison could have left it all behind.

He came close to swapping South Wales for South Yorkshire in July.

Instead, with his potential summer suitors now languishing in the Championship's lower reaches, the 27-year-old stands on the verge of history.

There were some Cardiff fans, however, who urged the club to accept Sheffield Wednesday's £5million offer. Morrison was largely unloved and not rated by the sections of the Bluebirds faithful back then.

Few expected him to display the requisite leadership credentials to take Cardiff to the Premier League anyhow.

Yet thanks to Warnock's old school approach Morrison has graduated to become the totemic captain we see today.

The natural born leader screaming to get his midfielders into position. The aerial powerhouse rising majestically to head home a winning goal. Or even the outspoken firebrand remonstrating with partner-in-crime Bamba to ensure that mistake doesn't happen again.

All in a year's work. Just think what another 12 months graft could produce for Morrison...

The poster boy

Cardiff City, hoping for bumper crowds to help drive them further and further, have selected Morrison as the poster boy for their latest advertising campaign, season tickets now on sale for what everyone hopes will be a 2018/19 in the Premier League.

A year ago, asked to pick a fan favourite, you probably wouldn't have chosen Morrison to front such a marketing push. But such is his increased influence, charisma and stature at the club, he seems the obvious choice. Along with Bamba of course.

"The captain role is something I've grown into and you learn on the job," Morrison says.

"The likes of Gunnar and Sol are people I learn from, experienced heads. It makes my job easier because I've got four or five other captains by my side and we're a very open and honest group.

"We table everything, if something needs to be said, we'll sit down and discuss it, we won't shy away from anything. And the majority of us are very good friends.

"There's been times after games we've won when things haven't been right, when we've spoken in the dressing room, but that's a good thing. It's happened more since we've been winning games actually."

That explains the scenes in the penalty box at Cardiff City Stadium following a goal or near-miss from the Bluebirds' opponents.

Often you will see Morrison and Bamba exchanging heated words.

All for the benefit of the team, for the greater good you might say.

"Even after winning our fifth in a row we had a bit of a bicker after the game, chasing perfection from one another. Because we know we can be better," Morrison adds.

"Morale has never dipped and that's to do with the strength of characters in the dressing room, people who will bring the mood back up when it's down. I'd like to think I'm one of those! But loads of guys: Pelts — he's like a Duracell bunny, he never stops — Sol is a big character... you could name all the lads, they all play a part.

"Even when I was sitting in the stands as we were losing games and decisions were going against us, we were never panicking or worrying 'is this our season done?'.

"Every team in this league goes through a spell like that and, yes, we had a bad 10 or 11 days around Christmas which isn't ideal.

"But in hindsight that might have kicked us on to not let that happen again. Since those four in a row we haven't lost in the league. That little blip might actually be the difference between us getting promotion and not."

The change in views

Those four defeats through Christmas and New Year actually signalled a change among some fans in their view of Morrison.

With the captain absent through a groin injury, many began to notice the chasm he left in Cardiff's defence through defeats against Bolton, QPR, Fulham and Preston. From a reputation as a raw, underrated centre-back continually under-appreciated, bizarrely it was a spell on the sidelines that elevated Morrison in the eyes of supporters.

He is a key cog now, that's for sure.

Yet for some time now the former Reading defender has been paramount in his manager's mind.

Even upon signing Bamba and Junior Hoilett in his first act as Cardiff manager, Warnock still wanted Morrison — a rejuvenated Morrison —at the forefront of his Cardiff revolution. Despite some calls for Bamba or Aron Gunnarsson to be given the armband, Warnock stuck by his skipper.

"With the manager coming in and his way of working, his man management skills, the whole mood around the training ground changed straight away," Morrison adds.

"He gave us the lift we needed, he brought in Sol and Junior, who have been instrumental for us. Massive signings. But the confidence he gave the boys was phenomenal.

"It feels like a long time ago but the amount we've come on since then is huge."

Silencing the critics

Cardiff's fans are fully behind Morrison now, with some even championing the captain as their player of the season.

But Morrison and company still have work to do if they're to convince those outside the Welsh capital of Cardiff's Premier League credentials.

Strangely, despite a seven-point cushion to third-placed Aston Villa, Cardiff still have their critics who centre their cynicism on a perceived 'physical' style of play.

"It doesn't bother me but I think it's a little unfair," adds Morrison asked whether that criticism irks him.

"Yes we've got a lot of big lads and we are quite physical, but that word 'physical' has come to mean fouls and tackles, but we talk about it in a different sense.

"It's not like we kick the lumps out of people, we're more high energy and we don't get enough credit for some of the football we've played. We can scrap wins, which is great, but there have been games when we've blown teams away. Both games against Leeds. The wins against Villa and Wolves.

"We don't listen to what other people say about us. They can see whatever Cardiff they want to see, because we're second in the league and we're enjoying it.

"We know we've got a lot of pace, power and some very good footballers. It's because we have the ability to win ugly... that's what people don't like."

The Sheffield Wednesday offer

Few predicted Morrison would be standing here, not least when two offers from Sheffield Wednesday arrived in the summer.

Eyebrows were raised in some quarters when first a £3million and then a £5million offer were batted away.

It was one of those brutally honest conversations between player and manager that ensured Morrison would go nowhere. Whether the centre-back has any powers of prophecy is unclear, but he certainly saw progress after eight months of Warnock to suggest promotion could be on the cards in time.

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

"If someone makes a bid for you, it can throw you off," he explains.

"But it can also show how much your own club want you. Me and the gaffer were very open and honest about it from the minute it happened, there was no hiding between agents from either of us.

"I wanted to stay and he wanted me to stay and it was as simple as that. It was just a case of getting the new contract sorted as mine was running down.

"I'm extremely happy at Cardiff City and I've made that fully clear. It's my second home now and I'm very happy the move didn't happen in the summer."

So was this a case of 'feeling wanted', a phrase Warnock has used himself about the job offer from Cardiff?

"All I know for certain is the way the manager spoke to me has made me a better player and captain. I wanted to stay here and work with the boys, I knew something special was going to happen here this year and I went off gut instinct.

"I definitely made the right decision and there wouldn't be much that would lure me away from Cardiff City.

His rallying cry for the promotion run-in

"You know what the Championship is like," he adds, asked about the Bluebirds' recent run that puts them on the brink of an improbable automatic promotion.

"It's one of those leagues where even if you get two or three wins on the bounce, you're flying. So to have picked up so many wins in the last six weeks or so, seven on the bounce, is just credit to the boys and everyone at the club.

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

"We've worked hard this season and put a few good runs together throughout the year. To put such a good run together at a crunch time of the season... hopefully it won't stop here.

"With the manager and his staff, the amount of experienced players here, you don't get carried away. You can have a bad couple of weeks in the Championship and things can change very quickly.

"It's just ticking one game off at a time and worrying about ourselves, not getting caught up in what's going on with Villa, Wolves, Derby and Fulham. If we stick to what we're doing, I'm sure we'll be fine."

Cardiff City season tickets are now on sale for 2018/19. To buy yours head to the club website , ticket office or call 0845 345 1400. They are priced from £249 to £549 for adults.