‘I improved a lot working with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and other brilliant Manchester City youngsters. A coach has to up their game in that environment’ Cardiff City boss Brian Barry-Murphy’s Man City learning curve

Cardiff City began 2026 well placed for a promotion push, after head coach Brian Barry-Murphy was handed the job of leading the Bluebirds back to the Championship following last season’s relegation.

This marked the 47-year-old’s second senior management job following a two-year stint at Rochdale between 2019 and 2021, but it was his spell in charge of Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad during which he really cut his teeth.

Barry-Murphy spent three years overseeing City’s youth set-up, during which time he worked with of the country’s best young players, something that he admits helped mould him as a coach.

Barry-Murphy on his time at Man City

“I was lucky that Jason Wilcox and Joe Shields, who oversaw my role at City, believed in me and gave me that shot,” Barry-Murphy reflects to FourFourTwo. “I loved that it was all about the players.

“Results weren’t as important because everything was geared towards getting these brilliant young guys to the highest level they could reach.

“My job was to help pave the way for them to reach the first team and I was constantly updating Pep Guardiola about them and preparing them for top-level football. I improved a lot working with players like Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and many other brilliant youngsters that have gone on to exciting careers.

“You have to up your game in that environment as they’re top, top talents that need to learn and improve.”

Barry-Murphy left City in July 2024, with his next role coming at Leicester City in December that year, when he joined Ruud van Nistelrooy’s staff. The Foxes would ultimately be relegated from the Premier League, but it proved to be another vital learning experience for the former Republic of Ireland international.

“It was a move that took me by surprise,” he continues. “I left Man City with the intention of going into the world of management to put the lessons I’d learned into practice.

“I walked into a high-level dressing room with massively experienced players. You have to convince them of your ability to help them improve and also come round to the ideas Ruud wanted to implement.

“Things didn’t work out at the end of the season but it gave me enormous insight into that type of dressing room.”