Cardiff 1-1 Birmingham: Russell Slade and Gary Rowett reaction

Russell Slade insists he will leave his role as Cardiff manager with his head held high after a 1-1 draw with Birmingham on the final day of the Sky Bet Championship season.

Slade will become the Bluebirds' head of football during the summer, with the club appointing a new head coach to take over first-team responsibilities.

The former Leyton Orient boss has not always been a popular figure among supporters but he has helped the club recover from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's miserable spell and challenge for a play-off spot despite huge cuts to the playing staff and wage bill.

After watching Anthony Pilkington cancel out David Cotterill's opener to ensures a share of the spoils in his last game at the helm, Slade believes he has plenty to be proud of as he heads to his new role.

Slade's tenure ends with draw

Russell Slade's tenure as Cardiff manager ended with a 1-1 draw against Birmingham

He said: "I move to my new role with my head held high. We have made progress as a club, we have taken strides to get us on the right track again.

"I don't think it will take an awful lot more progress for this club to get where it wants to be. There is a sound platform for the next head coach to build on.

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"It's been a difficult week after the disappointment of not getting the result we needed at Sheffield Wednesday to stay in the play-off hunt.

"Then we had the changes announced around the structure but we showed good character to get back in the game given we did not make a good start."

Cardiff fell behind in the 11th minute when Cotterill finished superbly from Clayton Donaldson's deep cross, the winger took one touch to bring to ball down before firing a low drive beyond the grasp of David Marshall.

But the Bluebirds levelled 15 minutes later when Jonathan Grounds failed to deal with Scott Malone's overhit cross and Pilkington pounced to slot home from close range for his ninth goal of the season.

The Blues had chances to win it, with Craig Noone heading a Cotterill free-kick off the line and James Vaughan striking the woodwork, but it ended all square.

Birmingham boss Gary Rowett reflected on the run of one win in 12 games which ultimately cost them a play-off spot.

He said: "In stages, we played well, we came on far stronger in the last 25 minutes but our performances have not been reflected in the points we have taken.

"That has cost us but this has been a very positive season for this club and we are moving forward.

"We have not won many in our last 10-15 games when we have gone ahead which has been the difference. That was a real strength for us.

"They moved the ball well but we were secure and comfortable, then we conceded a poor goal. It was an honest mistake but we have probably made too many of them."