Anthony Gerrard will vie with Gabor Gyepes and Mark Hudson in defence
Anthony Gerrard admits he has a big task to fill the defensive gap left by Roger Johnson at Cardiff City.
But the centre back, a summer recruit from Walsall, is confident he can prove his worth in the Championship.
Gerrard will compete with Gabor Gyepes and fellow new arrival Mark Hudson to be the new defensive rock following Johnson's £5m switch to Birmingham.
"The defensive record speaks for itself but also his [Johnson's] goal-scoring ability from set pieces," said Gerrard.
"He scored a lot of goals since he's been here so hopefully I can go on the same path as him."
The defender is the cousin of Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard and says it is his goal to one day line up against his illustrious relative in the Premier League.
"That would be my ultimate goal, to play against him," said Gerrard, who believes that the Bluebirds have every chance of helping him fulfil his ambition.
"Cardiff have got everything, the infrastructure is amazing, the new stadium, the new training facilities.
"So they're looking to make the step and hopefully I can make that with them."
But first Gerrard must cement his place in the starting line-up, with just Saturday's glamour friendly against Valencia at the Cardiff City Stadium to prove he deserves the nod for the league opener against Scunthorpe on 8 August.
"You don't expect anything with the manager, to be fair, you just go out and train as well as you can and hopefully that you then get selected," Gerrard added.
"The only thing I have to prove is I can play at this standard, I've played a lot of games - nearly 170 - which is a fair amount for a young lad, so hopefully I can muscle my way into the side and stay there."
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