Brian Barry-Murphy has been appointed as Cardiff's new manager on a three-year deal
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New Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy(Image: Cardiff City FC)
New Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy has outlined his vision for the club and detailed where the club's ambitions are with transfers.
On Monday, the 46-year-old Irishman was appointed by the Bluebirds on a three-year deal running to the summer of 2028. It marked an important moment in a new era for Cardiff, who will play League One football next season. It's the first time in over two decades that the capital city club have played in the English third tier, but former Manchester City coach Barry-Murphy assured fans they can expect a bright future.
Speaking to Cardiff City TV for the first time since his appointment, the Irishman spoke about his excitement to work with the current crop of players, and that he wants to approach things differently.
"One of the main reasons that I came here was the opportunity that it provides," began Barry-Murphy.
"To work with this group of players, with the exceptional talent coming through to try and combine and mould a squad with the senior players, that gives the whole club something to be proud of. That’s the reason I’m here.
"We want to be successful for sure. I believe we will be. Every competition we go into we want to win and we’re here to win as a group of people to reward the supporters, which is one of the strongest reasons why I’m here.
"The season ticket sales were above 10,000 at the first point when I spoke to the club. I believe a lot in energy and positive energy, and every time somebody raised a concern about the club based on relegation or results previously it just seemed to me as if there was opportunity.
"I know a lot of these players based on my knowledge and just a feeling of excitement to work with them and to improve them individually, collectively and win.
"We want to have this as a winning stadium, a winning club but winning a certain way, where the fans feel genuinely excited to walk in the stadium every single week and feel as if they’re going to see something that represents them, and enthralls and excites them - is the vision for me to do something slightly different.
"We could win randomly or win week to week, but to do something different with this bunch of players is the thing that is my real vision for the club."
A positive for Cardiff in playing in League One is their pulling power to attract high-quality players, something which will be crucial if they hope to bounce back to the Championship straight away.
Barry-Murphy was asked about transfers and touched on the club's pulling power.
"We will be looking to bring the best possible talent that we can to this football club," continued Barry-Murphy.
"We are in a unique position where we are the only club from Wales who are in League One. A club of this stature in League One can attract a certain calibre of player.
"We are looking to combine that with the best talent that we have here. In the initial phase, I am really looking forward to getting to know the players that are here, watching how they can grow and their application in training to improve.
"A natural approach for us is to make the squad as best as it can be on behalf of the supporters, and the motivation for that will be visible daily."
Barry-Murphy has an impressive CV already, despite being a relatively young coach. He started out at Rochdale in 2019, before taking on an Elite Development role with Manchester City, where he won back-to-back Premier League Two titles (the first coach in City's history to do so).
During his time with City, he helped develop current Premier League stars Liam Delap, Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia. After this, Barry-Murphy was brought in as an assistant coach under Ruud van Nistelrooy with Leicester City before joining Cardiff in June.