After suffering relegation from the EFL Championship, Cardiff City are closing in on the appointment of their new manager following the sacking of Omer Riza in April this year.
Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey had been put in temporary charge but was unable to turn around the fortunes of the club, ultimately seeing them drop into the EFL League One for the 2025/26 campaign.
However, after a rigorous interview process the club are reportedly down to their final two names as they close in on their new man.
Brian Barry-Murphy Enters The Cardiff City Manager Race
In a process that has seen several names linked to the vacancy including former Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt, Vincent Tan has reportedly whittled the list down to just two names with Brian Barry-Murphy emerging as a “leading candidate”.
The other name, thought to be Des Buckingham is still in the running and there may still be a twist or a new name that emerges as the club enter the final stages.
Barry-Murphy was previously manager of Rochdale between 2019 and 2021, before taking on a role at Manchester City in their youth set-up. His ability to develop players as well as his tactical understanding gained him plaudits from within the coaching landscape. The Irishman is currently at Leicester City. He has been linked to a host of jobs over the years ranging from League Two to the Championship but now could be set to move to League One with Cardiff City according to Darren Witcoop.
Cardiff City’s Big Summer
Cardiff face a big summer on their hands, relegation from the Championship to League One can be damaging for some clubs. Whilst there are success stories such as Birmingham City, there are also teams they end up swallowed up like Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United. We have seen big clubs like Sunderland, Derby County, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth stuck in the division for some time and the Bluebirds will be keen to ensure that they do not suffer the same fate.
If this appointment goes wrong, and they end up losing ground on the promotion hunt it could be too big an ask to make up the ground needed to return to the Championship at the first time of asking.