
Pep Guardiola's former sidekick set to rival ex-Arsenal star for huge League One job... despite suffering relegation with Premier League club last season
Leicester City first team coach Brian Barry-Murphy has emerged as a contender to become the next manager of Cardiff City.
The 46-year old is also on the shortlists at Plymouth Argyle and Bristol City.
Barry-Murphy has forged a solid reputation after being thrust into management at Rochdale before moving to Manchester City where he worked as manager of their Elite Development Squad and won consecutive Premier League 2 titles helping players such as Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia and CJ Egan-Riley.
Pep Guardiola leant on him for character references for the youngsters coming through and also asked him to help with first-team training.
The former Republic of Ireland U21 international midfielder joined Leicester last summer, initially alongside Steve Cooper, but stayed on to work with Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Cardiff suffered relegation to League One last season, coming 24th in the Championship. Their ownership is determined to return at the first attempt.
Aaron Ramsey, who has an offer to carry on playing with UNAM Pumas in Mexico, has also pitched for the manager's job on a permanent basis.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


ITV News
37 minutes ago
- ITV News
New report calls for eight-week break and mid-season rest for footballers
All professional footballers must be given at least eight weeks to rest and retrain between seasons and a minimum one-week mid-season break, according to a new report. The call for minimum protections to be introduced worldwide comes as some of the world's top stars including Manchester City prepare to take part in the newly-expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, which begins on Saturday 14 June. The tournament does not end until 13 July, meaning Manchester City and Chelsea players could have a gap of just five weeks before the new Premier League season kicks off on 16 August. That is two weeks less than the minimum off-season rest and retraining period a group of 70 medical and performance experts have recommended in a new study. England head coach Thomas Tuchel said earlier this week that the demands placed on City and Chelsea by the Club World Cup will hand a 'huge advantage' to Liverpool and Arsenal in next season's Premier League title race. The European division of world players' union FIFPRO and Europe's leagues have taken legal action against FIFA over what they see as a lack of consultation by the game's global governing body over the fixture calendar. The scheduling of the Club World Cup within that calendar has been described as a 'tipping point' in the debate by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters. The expert group has put forward 12 'position statements' on player welfare as part of the Delphi Study, which they feel should be adopted worldwide as minimum welfare standards. These included a mandatory four-week off-season break, and within that a two-week blackout period where clubs and national teams should have no contact at all with players. There should then be a minimum four-week retraining period after the off-season break before resuming competitive football. Mid-season breaks should last a minimum of one week, experts League players will not benefit from any mid-season break next season, as was the case in 2024-25. A pause was introduced in the 2019-20 season but was dropped before the start of the season just ended, due to the expansion of international competitions like UEFA's Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. The 12 position statements were agreed with the consensus of at least 75 per cent of the experts involved. Among the other statements were calls for mandatory consideration of the travel burden on players and the impact of long-haul flights, as well as specific workload safeguards for under-18 players. Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, the medical director of FIFPRO, said: 'This study presents safety standards based on the considered and independent opinions of medical and performance experts working in professional football who understand the mental and physical strain placed on players. 'If we can all agree that health comes first, then we should take steps to implement these safeguards.'


Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Jack Grealish posts cryptic message as he enjoys summer holiday after being exiled by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola - as team-mate Erling Haaland shares sad update without his close friend
Jack Grealish has shared a cryptic message during a summer holiday after the England star was left out of Manchester City 's squad for the Club World Cup. City will head to the United States for the tournament, with their first game of the campaign on June 18 against Moroccan side Wydad. They will also play Juventus and Al Ain in the group stage. Grealish is understood to have been left out so he can find a new club to join this summer. Guardiola has already acknowledged he may leave, and England manager Thomas Tuchel has told the forward that he must be playing more often in order to earn a call-up. Grealish started only seven times in what was a poor season for City by their own standards. Seemingly, in an attempt to clear his head, the 29-year-old has jetted off on holiday and shared some snaps from him break. While he has two years remaining on his £300,000-a-week contract, a repeat would do neither City nor the player any favours. And now, one of Grealish's best friends at the club, Erling Haaland, shared a post on social media directed at the star as City jetted of for the start of the competition. Grealish has been left out so he can find a new club after struggling for game time this term Haaland, who scored 31 goals in all competitions for City this season, shared a photo to his Snapchat account of him sat on City's flight to Florida, wearing a City shirt and sat on branded seats. The spot next to him, though, was empty - having seemingly been left free for Grealish. The forward, wearing headphones, had instead seemingly put some luggage on the seat next to him, and captioned the photo: 'Jack Grealish where are you,' accompanied by a crying emoji. Grealish, meanwhile, shared a video, showing his legs in water with the caption: 'Peaceful', and showing off his surroundings, with a cruise ship seen in the sea. Haaland and Grealish have become close friends since the former joined the club from Borussia Dortmund three years ago. After City won the Premier League for two years ago, Haaland screamed: 'I f***ing love you, you know that?' in his friend's direction, interrupting his interview with Sky Sports. Mail Sport explained in May 2023 how the pair live on the same floor in a plush city-centre apartment block in Manchester, only strengthening their relationship - although one ventures into town slightly more than the other. 'Everyone is different, aren't they?' Grealish previously told Mail Sport. 'Look at Erling. He is the best professional I have ever seen. Grealish and Haaland both live on the same floor in a plush apartment block in Manchester Haaland stole the show during Grealish's post-match interview after City won the league in 2023 as the striker yelled 'I f***ing love you, you know that?', live on Sky Sports The pair are two interesting characters but are perhaps an unlikely combination as best friends 'We have a great friendship but he will point at me after a game and say, 'Hey, don't you go out tonight partying'. 'His mindset is something you won't see again. He does everything. Recovers. In the gym. 10 hours of treatment a day. Ice baths. Diet. That's why he is what he is. But I swear I couldn't be like that. Clubs in England - including Everton - and Europe are expected to be interested in the playmaker, although the fact that many are grappling with profit and sustainability issues may point to the likelihood of a loan deal, rather than a permanent move for a man who cost City £100m when he signed from Aston Villa for a British record fee in 2021.


Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE MARCUS SMITH: How God, Jonny Wilkinson and three little tricks got me through pain of being dropped by England
The Portuguese sun is washing over Marcus Smith and, he hopes, washing away any of the darker memories of a topsy-turvy campaign. Up close, England's superstar No 10 shows no marks of the stresses and strains that came from losing his starting shirt, being shunted into a new position and then to the bench.