How Brian Barry-Murphy has reacted to Celtic FC talk at Cardiff City | OneFootball

Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has issued his reaction on recent links to Celtic

Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has reacted to speculation linking his services with Scottish giants Celtic, who remain in search of filling the managerial vacancy at Parkhead following the departure of former Swansea City, Liverpool and Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers.

The Irishman's only previous senior stint in the dugout before being appointed as the man to help lead Cardiff back to the Championship came with Rochdale, in which the Greater Manchester outfit suffered relegation to League Two at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

Barry-Murphy promptly spent years honing his craft under the watch of the legendary Pep Guardiola in charge of Manchester City's Elite Development Squad (EDS), and worked as assistant to Ruud Van Nistelrooy at Leicester City last season as the Foxes were relegated straight back down to the second-tier.

His appointment at Cardiff represented an undeniable risk taken by under-fire owner Vincent Tan, who has overseen no shortage of managerial churn in the Welsh capital in recent years but decided to award the ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Bury midfielder a three-year contract. Thus far, that decision is paying off handsomely.

Cardiff, with the youngest squad in League One owing to Barry-Murphy's philosophy of entrusting young, homegrown talents from the club's academy, find themselves positioned fifth in the table and have also progressed all the way to the EFL Cup quarter-finals after defeating the likes of Burnley and Wrexham, and a mouth-watering clash at home to Chelsea duly awaits.

Barry-Murphy, as one would perhaps expect from a Guardiola disciple, has deployed a progressive possession-based style, placing a near-unwavering emphasis on both dominating territory and moving the ball through the thirds with intent and aggression. All things considered, then, it is little surprise that the 47-year-old has already earned links to clubs elsewhere, which he has now publicly reacted to.

Cardiff City boss Brian Barry-Murphy issues reaction to Celtic FC talk

Earlier this month, it was reported by Alan Nixon of The Sun — via his exclusive Patreon service — that both Middlesbrough and Celtic were weighing up swoops for Barry-Murphy. However, WalesOnline swiftly reported that no contact had been made from either club and Boro are now closing in on the appointment of Kim Hellberg following Rob Edwards' controversial switch to Wolverhampton Wanderers, whereas no fresh updates have since emerged on Celtic's reported interest in Barry-Murphy.

The popular Bluebirds boss has, however, issued his reaction to such speculation ahead of Cardiff's return to divisional action this weekend away at Northampton Town.

When asked on what he had heard about potential interest, Barry-Murphy responded: "Nothing. I feel genuinely privileged to be here.

"I hope to stay here for a long time if they'll have me.

"I'm genuinely very, very grateful to be here."

Barry-Murphy was also asked if the speculation served as a reflection of his early success at Cardiff, to which he added: "I sometimes cringe when I hear those sort of responses.

"I'm just genuinely very grateful for being at Cardiff. The dressing room I'm working with is outstanding. The city and club is brilliant for me.

"So my focus is totally on trying to win on Saturday."

Cardiff City should have no Brian Barry-Murphy exit fear right now

Whether Barry-Murphy likes it or not, it is indeed a testament to his progressive and transformative work to date in South Wales, both in terms of results and performances and longer-term factors such as squad-building, squad culture and promoting young players to the senior setup, that he's being linked to clubs higher up the footballing ladder.

But that, of course, does not mean that we should be expecting the Irishman to pack his bags anytime soon. Barry-Murphy has consistently made points of outlining his affinity, commitment and, perhaps most interestingly, his gratitude afforded to the opportunity at hand, which he clearly does not intend on leaving for a project elsewhere.

His project is in the Welsh capital, and it's one which he's in for the long-term. At present, Cardiff are competing for promotion back to the Championship, but that will by no means represent anything of an end goal for Barry-Murphy, who will want to make the Bluebirds upwardly-mobile for years to come.

As such, while the rumour mill may continue to spin away for the remainder of the current campaign and beyond, Barry-Murphy is clearly more than happy where he is and that will serve as music to the ears for all connected with the Bluebirds.