Peter Whittingham congratulates Roger Johnson who scored the opening goal

Midfielder Peter Whittingham has not given up hope of Cardiff securing automatic promotion to the Premier League after their 4-1 win over Derby.

Whittingham, 24, delivered for Roger Johnson's opener, with Gavin Rae, Jay Bothroyd and Eddie Johnson scoring too.

Fifth-place Cardiff have six games left with 18 points at stake and are eight points behind Birmingham in second.

"It's obviously a hard task and we've got to rely on others to lose," said Whittingham.

"But we've got to keep on winning and if it is just the play-offs then we go in there on a good run."

On paper, Cardiff have a fairly straightforward run-in, with Burnley and Preston the only teams in their remaining six fixtures who are still playing for something.

Bottom club Charlton could already be consigned to relegation by the time the Bluebirds visit the Valley towards the end of the month.

606: DEBATE Give your thoughts on Cardiff City's chances of automatic promotion

Cardiff have only won twice in their last six games and suffered a shock defeat to struggling Norwich.

But Whittingham believes Wednesday's emphatic win over Derby could just be enough to steer them back on course.

"Saturday is a big game for us away at Crystal Palace," he said.

"They are doing all right and I think it's a case of taking each game and going from there."

And he says the key is keeping a calm head.

"Everybody wants to win, but you don't really want to force the play," Whittingham added.

"You need to keep the ball, because if you haven't got the ball you are not going to score.

"We've got some calm heads out there and some good finishers so I'm sure we'll be all right."

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