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CARDIFF CITY are likely to part company with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after just nine months in charge.

He is meeting club officials and an announcement on his future is expected.

The Bluebirds were beaten 1-0 by Middlesbrough on Tuesday – their second home defeat in four days after a 4-2 capitulation against Norwich. It was their third loss in seven Championship matches, a run that has seen them slip to 17th in the table.

Solskjaer, 41, took over from Malky Mackay on January 2, but failed to save City from Premier League relegation.

After the latest defeat, the former Manchester United striker said he accepted the blame for the club’s poor run of form.

“I’m responsible and I should get better results than this; better than what we’ve had in the first seven games,” said Solskjaer.

His team had been booed off the pitch at half time and at the end of the game against Middlesbrough.

Their poor display drew criticism from former Bluebirds striker Nathan Blake, who felt the players lacked confidence.

“Cardiff were inept – there was nothing there,” said Blake.

“Cardiff, just from the get-go really, were just devoid of ideas and I hate to say it, but devoid of confidence. The fans were on their backs and you could see certain players weren’t up for the fight and didn’t want to get on the ball.

“You keep changing players around; what you do, you chip away at their self-confidence because no matter what excuse or reason you give them for not playing, they’re always going to feel like ‘I’ve been dropped’.” — BBC Sport