New Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has revealed that he has been tasked with getting the club back into the Championship in his first season in charge by owner Vincent Tan.
The 46-year-old has taken on his first managerial role since leaving Rochdale in 2021. He has spent the majority of his time since at Manchester City, working with the academy before joining Leicester City in December.
He joins a Cardiff side that have just endured a torrid season which saw them finish bottom of the Championship. Life in League One awaits, where the Bluebirds will be hoping to navigate a way out of the division at the first time of asking.
Barry-Murphy Targeting ‘Championship And Beyond’
The Irishman is under no illusions about the scale of the task at hand, but knows exactly the blueprint which he is expected to follow. Speaking in his first press conference, he was asked if Tan expected him to achieve promotion next season:
“Absolutely. Vincent was very clear about where he sees the club going and how quickly he wants to see that.
“My conversation with him was really positive and I told him I have a real deep belief in how to do that.
“For everybody on the outside, including Vincent, the objective is to get to the Championship and beyond as soon as possible.
“There’s a potential to achieve something that could be really special and that’s the thing that probably excited me the most in the recent period.
“There’s no pressure to sell any player in the squad and anything we can improve in the club, I have the absolute support from the people at the top of the club to do that and that’s going to be the mantra as we move through pre-season and beyond.”
Writer’s View
Cardiff are a club that will feel they are ‘too big’ for League One, but that is a narrative we have heard from a host of clubs over the years. Although Birmingham City’s achievements last season may never be matched, the likes of Leeds United, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers have all seen how tough it is to get out of the division in recent years and it will be no walk in the park for the Bluebirds. Barry-Murphy knows he has to hit the ground running. The expectation is high and any sign that he will fail to achieve that could end in his three-year deal being cut short at the first opportunity.
