Brian Barry-Murphy: Cardiff City promotion would prove doubters wrong, says boss

This is only Barry-Murphy’s second senior managerial role, having been in charge of Rochdale between 2019 and 2021 before working with Manchester City’s Under-21s and Leicester City.

The Irishman has proved a big success at Cardiff, unlike most of the Welsh club’s appointments in recent years.

Although the Bluebirds came down from the Championship with a wage bill and resources far greater than their League One rivals, there was no guarantee that they would bounce straight back.

A dozen senior players left during the off-season as they reduced costs following relegation, and Barry-Murphy was seen as a bold – if progressive – choice of head coach for a club which had previously been criticised for its lack of direction.

“We’ve come a long way in a short period of time,” he added.

“That’s why it’s so important just to keep harping back to the importance of remaining focused on the immediate task in front of us.”

Barry-Murphy was coy about the prospect of leading Cardiff to promotion in his first season in charge but said: “The most exciting thing I think about being at this club at the moment is the potential that we see in the team.

“The improvement since the start of the season we hoped would be enormous and it’s exceeded even my expectations.

“On a daily basis, the hunger from the team to improve means that there is no ceiling to what we can achieve.”