Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has moved to shut down speculation linking him with a potential move to French side RC Strasbourg, insisting he is fully committed to his current role with the Bluebirds.
Reports in France have suggested Barry-Murphy is among the candidates being considered by Strasbourg now their current head coach Liam Rosenior leave the club, with Rosenior strongly linked to the vacant managerial position at Chelsea following the departure of Enzo Maresca.
Speaking after Cardiff’s latest home victory, Barry-Murphy was clear in his response when asked about the rumours.
“I don’t know. I love Cardiff,” he said.“I love being at Cardiff, I love it. I feel very lucky to be here.”
Barry-Murphy has enjoyed an impressive start to life in the Welsh capital, guiding Cardiff to the top of League One and establishing an attacking style that has quickly won over supporters. Sunday’s 1-0 home win over Wigan Athletic maintained a three-point lead at the summit and extended Cardiff’s strong run at Cardiff City Stadium.
The Irishman chose to keep the focus firmly on on-pitch matters, highlighting the progress made during a demanding recent schedule.
“I didn’t really know about it, that’s for sure,” he added, referring to the Strasbourg reports.
“We just focus on ourselves and try to keep improving all the time.”
Cardiff sit three points clear of Lincoln City at the top of League One, with Barry-Murphy’s immediate attention firmly fixed on sustaining their promotion push rather than entertaining interest from elsewhere.
Do the links have legs?
Whether he has heard of them or not is irrelevant, as he is sure to be on a shortlist. For a manager whose only previous experience was getting sacked by Rochdale, he has a huge reputation, but his spell with Man City added to that.
In fairness, Liam Rosenior was sacked by Hull before he went to Strasbourg, and look how well he has done. There are parallels here, with Rosenior not only being sacked in England, but also gaining a big reputation as a bright young coach.
Barry-Murphy might love Cardiff, and a promotion looks likely, but a chance to manage in one of Europe’s top leagues might be a bit too tempting.
