Kellyman hopes Cardiff form can boost Chelsea dream

Omari Kellyman is hoping his standout form for table-toppers Cardiff City can impress his new Chelsea boss.

The midfielder described the appointment of Liam Rosenior as head coach at Stamford Bridge as "great" for the club.

And he hopes it could be just as good for him having failed to get football under Enzo Maresca and having previously worked with Rosenior as a teenager at first club Derby County.

"I have worked with the new Chelsea manager in the past when I was very young," said Kellyman.

"I've seen him in Derby as well. I think he was eating lunch with his wife and I had a short conversation with him. So yeah, the relationship I had was alright.

"We've seen what he did at Strasbourg, so I think it's great for the club."

Eighteen months after a £20 million move to Chelsea from Aston Villa, it has taken a loan move to south Wales for Kellyman to get the football he was desperate for.

After just five appearances for Chelsea's youth side last season, it prompted the 20-year-old to seek more game time in the lower leagues.

There is no sense of distraction, however, if anything, the change sharpens his motivation: perform now and the right people will be watching.

Kellyman has played a key part in the Bluebirds sitting top of League One, three points clear ahead of their trip to Leyton Orient on Saturday. He has featured 16 times, adding goals, trickery and pace to Brian Barry-Murphy's side.

And crucially, Kellyman believes there is still far more to come from himself and Cardiff.

"My focus is here with Cardiff City. We're top of the league so we can look at the rest of the season positively," he said.

"The point of a loan is to go out and showcase what you're capable of and so I think coming here has been great for me.

"I'm delighted with how things are going and I've definitely had a positive few weeks finding that next gear.

"But I wouldn't say I've found my best form. I would say there's probably still maybe two or three more gears to go."

Cardiff have handed Kellyman his first sustained run in professional football and his League One debut against Bradford on 20 September is one he will not forget.

"My first game was a rude awakening," he recalled.

"My first touch and somebody's come in two-footed at me. But honestly, that was probably the best way it could've happened.

"I knew that's what I was in for but I've been part of physical games growing up so you just learn how to cope."

He has coped and grown. Availability was his first target and he has hit it.

"I needed games to build fitness and momentum and I've learnt a lot about myself and my body.

"I've been available for most of the games and playing 90 minutes every week is the goal, even when there's two games in a week."

He has scored twice so far, in wins over Reading and Doncaster Rovers, but his ambitions stretch further.

"I think now I'm looking at maybe 15 goals and assists for the season, so if I can hit those numbers and do my part to help the team, that would be good for us," he said.

More than anything, Kellyman is rediscovering belief: "I've learned that I can do it at a professional level.

"Off the back of last season, it seemed so far away, almost impossible. But with that comes confidence, which you start to see in snippets."

Kellyman is thriving under Barry-Murphy's guidance and believes the manager's style suits his own game "to a tee".

The manager, the system and the club's commitment to young players made the move a "no-brainer" but Kellyman notes a real "buzz" within the squad that has helped him settle.

"When you're coming in, you've got that common ground with other young players, so you sort of attach to them a little bit. It's been great," he says.

"The best part is all of us go into every game excited because we know what we can do. There's confidence and hunger to go and tear teams apart."

Kellyman's season is becoming a story of rediscovery, of a young player learning, adapting, and proving himself week by week.

As he puts it, he has "two or three more gears to go".

For Cardiff supporters, the excitement lies in seeing just how high those gears can take him.