Hard clutch even after replacing

[Poodle]

Fair play, gotcha. Doesn't sound like user error tbf, always worth checking though. My suggestion would be to work some wd40 in the cable and see if it loosens up. If it does, change the cable. Failing that it'll be the release fork bushes or clutch itself, as welshpug has said. Maybe have a check for play in those bushes before getting the clutch looked at. Good luck with it, let us know how you get on.