Brian Barry-Murphy's first decision as Cardiff City boss was a no-brainer as staff details emerge
Brian Barry-Murphy's first decision as Cardiff City boss was a no-brainer as staff details emerge
The Bluebirds head coach spoke at length about the project he has taken on in the Welsh capital
New Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy
(Image: Cardiff City FC )
Brian Barry-Murphy has described his new assistant coach at Cardiff City as one of the best he has ever seen at developing young talent.
Barry-Murphy, who was officially unveiled as Cardiff boss on Monday, has dozens of big decisions lying ahead and appointing Lee Riley as his assistant was the first big call which needed ticking off. One criticism levelled at Cardiff in recent years has been the inexperience or lack of quality within the backroom staff, but Barry-Murphy believes Riley is the perfect man to help him lead this Bluebirds project.
Riley joins from his position as both academy coach and European emerging talent scout at Man City, which will no doubt have its uses in what will be a crucial summer transfer window. He previously worked with Barry-Murphy at Rochdale, too. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community
And Cardiff's new head coach waxed lyrical about Riley, saying in his first press conference: "I believe that we have some of the best young talent anywhere in the country. To bring that to maximum potential, you have to have some of the best coaches. I had to have an open mind at Manchester City that I would work with some of the best coaches and staff in the world.
"Lee will be embarrassed when I say this, but I've never met a coach that was more adept at developing talent or having a tactical awareness of what was needed in league games. Essentially that will allow us to be a winning team.
"When there is such a focus on developing young talent, it's important not to distract away from the fact that we want to get promoted and win the league. There's no getting away from that.
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"And Lee has all the qualities that I believe will be instrumental in allowing that to come to fruition."
It is understood that some members of Omer Riza's previous staff will not be involved in Barry-Murphy's setup. Tom Ramasut won't be included, while Darren Purse will resume his role as head coach of the under-21s.
It likely means Cardiff will be a body short and it might be something that is addressed in the weeks to come.
"The idea is to come in and work with the structures in place," the 46-year-old added. "If there's any situation where we can improve that going forward then maybe we will.
"But I feel the club is really well staffed and the structure is really strong.
"I'm waiting to meet the rest of the staff. Jonny Northeast (head of performance), Gavin Ward (goalkeeping coach), people like that, I know there's discussion around [Ward], his contract is expiring. But I've not spoken to him yet."
There was some hope that Barry-Murphy being named a head coach rather than a manager might spark the appointment of a director of football above him. However, that does not seem to be imminent. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
Speaking about the structure above him and a perceived lack of football IQ at board level, the new Bluebirds boss said: " One of the key things for me is the structure of the club. When I was at Manchester City, the titles of the people at the top can vary from club to club.
"Having a support system in place to provide the best possible structure for the club is paramount. My conversations with Gavin Chesterfield were probably the most important thing in terms of moving this process forward. Then meeting Ken (Choo), Mehmet (Dalman), Vincent (Tan), but Gavin's influence cannot be overstated, because of his knowledge of the club and what's coming through. That means the structures in place are really strong for me.
"But, like the playing staff, anything we can do to improve that going forward will be done.
"I've been impressed. Gavin and his understanding of where I come from, the way I work and his interpretation of how I will work with this playing squad was of paramount importance to me.
"I took that forward. When I spoke to Mehmet, Ken, Steve (Borley) and Vincent, there was then a sense of me having a feel or instinct of that being replicated at boardroom level and to really let these young players grow alongside the likes of Alex Robertson.
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"At no stage did I ever get the sense that passion wasn't shared."
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