Cardiff City boss on Guardiola 'obsession' & his time at City

Among all the stark differences on show when Cardiff City host Chelsea in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night, there will be a couple of familiarities.

It hasn't, after all, been too long since Brian Barry-Murphy and Enzo Maresca were both on the coaching staff at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.

As recently as 2023, in fact. When Maresca was Pep's assistant, and Barry-Murphy was leading Man City's Elite Development Squad - coaching the likes of Cole Palmer.

It was the previous step in what has been an unconventional path for Barry-Murphy. He currently has Cardiff City four points clear at the top of League One, but his last senior role was with Rochdale in the same division from 2019-21.

When he left Rochdale it wasn't the plan to step back into youth-team coaching. Then 42, he would have felt the time was right to continue his journey in management.

'I had been obsessed with Pep for a long time'

But the chance to work with elite talents and under one of his heroes was too good to turn down.

"There were three major parts for me," Barry-Murphy tells Sky Sports in his trademark analytical fashion. "First, the chance to work with someone I had been obsessed with for a long time in Pep Guardiola.

"From him I learned how important it is to have an obsessive focus every single day. In football there is a lot of outside noise, but the focus on the daily work leading up to the game was total. The players were aligned with that and I saw the results.

"I also learned a huge amount from Lorenzo Buenaventura [the fitness coach at Man City], who gave me as much insight as Pep. Their training programme and how it brought the game model to life blew my mind.

"It was something I always wanted as a player and it has become an important influence on how we train here at Cardiff.

"Second, I had people above me who believed in my way of working and wanted to give me a test that would improve me.

"Third, the calibre of player in the dressing room meant I had to elevate my coaching. Working with players like Cole Palmer, Oscar Bobb and others meant I had to evolve and really test myself.

"That environment gave me the tools to become a better coach and fed my drive to improve every day."

'Even though it was a difficult time for the club I took a lot from it'

There was one more step between leaving Man City and joining Cardiff, with Barry-Murphy going on to work under Ruud van Nistelrooy at Leicester City last season.

"I left Manchester City intending to take on a role like the one I have now, but the opportunity arose to work with Ruud in the Premier League," he says.

"He was the manager and I was his assistant. Working with a squad of that calibre after my time at City was a great opportunity for me at that point.

"It was an unexpected opportunity. Even though it was a difficult time for the club I took a lot from it. All the experiences over those years at those two clubs gave me the appetite to test myself again as a manager."

'We want every member of the squad to feel that we are invested in their improvement'

The opportunity came in the summer, when he took on the role at Cardiff City - who had just been relegated from the Championship.

It feels an ideal fit, particularly considering the amount of youngsters currently in the Bluebirds squad. The likes of Ronan Kpakio (18), Joel Colwill (21), Cian Ashford (21) and Dylan Lawlor (19) are among the regulars to feature for a side that currently sit atop League One.

They have scored more goals than any other side in the division, and play an aesthetically-pleasing brand of football. Barry-Murphy says the transition from working with elite talents to a senior squad has been a natural one.

"The only difference is the individual characteristics of the players," he says. "The way of training, working and investing in their future is the same.

"We have players here with high potential and we want every member of the squad to feel that we are invested in their improvement. If players, young or old, see that you are committed to improving them, their response is natural. That is what I see here."

'I felt I was at a point in my career where I needed to prove myself'

Barry-Murphy's last spell in League One with Rochdale saw them end up relegated in 2021. He will be hoping this season ends with Cardiff City leaving the third tier as well, but from the other end.

He believes the potential is massive for a club that were in the Premier League in the recent past.

"The sheer size of the club and the level of support from the city were major factors in me coming here," he says. "I already had an awareness of the players in the dressing room and had a real appetite to work with them.

"I felt I was at a point in my career where I needed to prove myself and test what I had learned over the past few years.

"We have young players from this area with a great appetite to play for the club, and senior professionals who are incredible influences on the rest of the squad. I feel blessed to be in this environment, pushing the club forward with such strong support.

"I actually underestimated it a little. The range of supporters and the size of the fanbase are incredible. There is so much room for growth in the city and our job is to give the supporters a team they can be proud of. They seem connected with what we are doing."

The Cardiff City Stadium will no doubt be in full voice when Chelsea come to visit. If they can pull off the biggest of surprises, then the sky could be the limit for Barry-Murphy's Bluebirds.