Despite scoring on his debut on 7 August 1999 in a 1–1 draw with Millwall, Boland initially struggled to find form in Cardiff, his time not helped by a broken leg early into his second season at the club, sustained in a match against Barnet.

After helping the team win promotion to Division One he gradually fell out of favour under new manager Dave Jones.

[3] The Irishman was Cardiff City's longest serving player, having been at the club for seven years and starting over 200 games, before leaving when his contract expired in the summer of 2006.

[citation needed] Boland is a hard tackling midfielder with good battling qualities; he has represented his country at Under-21 level.

[11] He spent one month in charge of the side before the club appointed Neil McDonald as Russell's permanent replacement.