The Bluebirds welcome Chelsea to Cardiff City Stadium for a highly-anticipated Carabao Cup quarter-final
Brian Barry-Murphy, Cardiff City head coach
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Brian Barry-Murphy has told his Cardiff City young guns to be respectful of, but not intimidated by, Chelsea as the Premier League giants head to town for the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
The Bluebirds host Club World Cup champions Chelsea in the Welsh capital on Tuesday night, with a spot in the semi-finals up for grabs.
Cardiff have enjoyed a stellar season so far, making their way to the last eight of the competition, while they currently enjoy a healthy four-point lead at the top of League One.
Barry-Murphy has also nurtured through a crop of hugely-talented kids in the process - though Rubin Colwill, the player of the competition for round four, will miss the game through injury, while Ronan Kpakio is suspended following two bookings in the first four matches - making Cardiff's storyline this season a pleasing one heading into the match.
Ticket sales have surged and media interest has intensified in the build-up to the tie, but while supporters are relishing the occasion, Barry-Murphy insists his focus remains firmly on competing and showing what they are about.
“I think the anticipation for the game since the draw was made has been evident everywhere we've been,” Barry-Murphy said. “We’ve tried to detach ourselves from that as much as possible while focusing on the league campaign. But now that it's here, the build-up is going to be incredibly exciting for everyone.”
Cardiff head into the contest in strong domestic form after winning five consecutive League One matches. And while the pressure may be off for supporters, the head coach stressed that he and his players are determined to give a full account of themselves against a Chelsea side packed with world-class talent.
“For the players and myself, we still want to show ourselves in the best light and give a good account of ourselves,” he said. “We’re playing against a team of the highest calibre, but this is exactly what you want — a chance to test yourself at the very highest level."
Barry-Murphy, who knows Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca well from their time together at Manchester City, insists respect will not turn into fear, with Cardiff intent on approaching the game positively rather than simply trying to survive.
“We have to respect them completely, but not be intimidated by that,” he added. “This is a chance for us to see what that level looks like and give it absolutely everything.
"The huge benefit of this game is we get a chance to put our players, so many them so young, into a game and an occasion that they won't have experienced before.
"So no matter what happens in the game we'll take a lot from it and really, more than anything, we're looking for those young players to flourish and to really show their personality and demonstrate the type of skill that they've showed throughout the course of the league campaign.
"Overawed is a good word - we have to try to make sure that we don't become overwhelmed by the level of opponents we're facing both individually and collectively and try and be as expressive as possible in all aspects of the game.
“We’re a very big club ourselves with a huge support base, and we want to give those fans something to feel exhilarated by.”
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