Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock says he was not shocked by his side’s 3-2 defeat at Wigan Athletic as he is fully aware of how tough life back in the Championship will be.

The Bluebirds opened the scoring at the DW Stadium on Saturday through Joe Ralls, before quick-fire goals from Michael Jacobs and Josh Windass gave the Latics the lead.

Omar Bogle did manage to get the Bluebirds back on level terms but Wales international Lee Evans’ strike on 75 minutes secured Wigan an opening-day win.

Having had opportunities to snatch at least a point from the encounter up in Lancashire, Warnock admitted his side must take their chances if they are to enjoy a positive season in a tough Championship.

“It was nothing I wasn’t expecting, we know exactly how tough this league is,” he said, “You have to take your chances and I thought we had chances to kill the game. We didn’t take them and poor defending at the other end has cost us dearly.

“They scored some cracking goals, but they were poor defending from our point of view. They were preventable goals, and that’s something we have to learn from.

“I’m so disappointed because I thought it was a game we could have got three points from, never mind one.”

Cardiff will be looking to bounce back on August 10 where they are 1.77 to win, 4.30 to lose and 3.55 to draw at home to Luton Town.