First glimpse of Brian Barry-Murphy's Cardiff City emerges as screaming instruction speaks volumes
The Bluebirds played a behind-closed-doors friendly against Merthyr Town before heading out to Spain
Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy
(Image: Cardiff City FC )
Cardiff City's pre-season really is in full flow now, with Brian Barry-Murphy stamping his ideas more clearly with each passing day.
The players and coaching staff are about to begin their pre-season in earnest with two games out in Spain, against Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta'zim FC and Southend United. However, before they hopped on a flight to Spain, they played a behind-closed-doors friendly in their first match under the new head coach.
Here, we take a look at how things are progressing and how the squad is starting to take shape under the watch of the Irishman. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.
Merthyr friendly
The first actual game Cardiff played under Barry-Murphy was against non-League side Merthyr Town at the weekend.
The Bluebirds took part in a behind-closed-doors friendly against newly-promoted National League North side the Martyrs, so the new head coach could get a closer look at how his charges are progressing.
Cardiff claimed a very convincing win over the fellow Welsh side, as would be expected, in what would have hopefully been a useful exercise for Barry-Murphy and his staff.
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In a short video put out by the club, the likes of Yousef Salech, Tanatswa Nyakuhwa and Luke Pearce are all seen getting on the score sheet, while Merthyr sources waxed lyrical about the performances of Rubin Colwill and Salech.
How much can be read into these players' performances against such opposition is likely minimal, but it was heartening to see the vast majority of players involved, including those with transfer speculation supposedly hanging over them such as Alex Robertson and Salech himself.
Fans who watched the minute-long clip were encouraged by the pace of the build-up play — something which has been heavily criticised at Cardiff in recent years — and sharpness and crispness of the passing and movement.
Heavily involved, as is likely to be the case under Barry-Murphy, were ball-playing midfielders Joel Colwill, Eli King, Robertson, Rubin Colwill and, notably, Ryan Wintle.
Wintle returns to the club, having played a prominent role in the Erol Bulut side which finished 12th in the Championship, before an apparent difference in opinion between the two parties saw the player moved on.
Ryan Wintle of Cardiff City
He sealed a move to Millwall, but in truth he played a bit-part role at The Den last season. However sources claim he has impressed the new coaching team and it would be no surprise to see him play a big part this season.
Cardiff are devoid of leaders following the departures of Joe Ralls, Aaron Ramsey and Callum O'Dowda, but Wintle returns to bolster that department in some capacity.
While I was unsuccessful in spotting a captain's arm band in that Merthyr Town clip, it would be little surprise to see the midfielder skipper the side on Wednesday night in Cardiff's first game in front of fans at the Pinatar Arena.
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Murcia training
These players have something to prove after relegation, but make no mistake, Barry-Murphy will feel the same.
Having garnered a reputation as one of the finest coaches in the country, he will want to convince everyone that his ability on the grass can be translated into winning football matches and, ultimately, titles or promotions.
And even in the short training clip the club have posted of their first day of training, it's clear to see the sort of messages being conveyed and the high-octane football Barry-Murphy wants to implement.
In one small-sided game, Rubin Colwill loses the ball and doesn't attempt to win it back quickly enough, which prompts a loud bark from his head coach.
"Press it, Rubin! Press it, Rubin!" instructed Barry-Murphy. "Not dynamic enough on the turnover, press it!"
Even the attention to detail when King, who is likely to enjoy Barry-Murphy's style of play, picked the ball up on the half turn before whipping it into space was evident.
"Kingy, Kingy, Kingy, good body shape, let's go!" the head coach shouted encouragingly from the sideline.
Another positive snippet was seeing Callum Robinson in full flow.
The Republic of Ireland international did not partake in much of the pre-season schedule before meeting up with the squad in Murcia, however he was front and centre during much of the shooting drills, finding the back of the net with regularity.
Callum Robinson in pre-season training
(Image: Cardiff City FC )
The striker is someone who will be viewed as a big asset, especially in League One, a level he should be too good for, and if Cardiff have designs on forcing their way into the top two this season, someone with his skillset, experience and knowledge of where the back of the net is will be very useful.
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Whether he is part of the squad of the game on Wednesday night or whether Barry-Murphy will opt to wait for Saturday's clash with Southend to give him a run-out remains to be seen.
The only other senior players not on the pre-season trip are Perry Ng, who hurt his knee during the first day of pre-season training and is expected to be out for five weeks, thus missing the start of the season, and Jak Alnwick.
Alnwick, it's understood, has suffered a back spasm and will be out for a couple of weeks. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
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