How Brian Barry-Murphy has reacted to Strasbourg links amid Cardiff City exit talk | OneFootball

The Cardiff City boss has been linked with a move to France, but his comments on the matter don't indicate that he's in any rush to leave South Wales.

Cardiff City had coach Brian Barry-Murphy has reacted to rumours linking him to the soon-to-be vacant managerial position at French club Strasbourg.

With a 1-1 draw at Wycombe Wanderers and a 1-0 win against Wigan Athletic keeping them three points clear of Lincoln City at the top of League One to kick off the new year, Cardiff City have started 2026 very much as they ended 2025.

But one potential cloud on their horizon to have suddenly appeared on the horizon has been the possibility of losing manager Brian Barry-Murphy to the French club RC Strasbourg. They are expected to be on the hunt for a new head coach, with the current incumbent, Liam Rosenior, expected to be appointed at Chelsea this week.

Reports in the French newspaper L'Equipe had linked the club with a potential move for Barry-Murphy, who has impressed by turning Cardiff around in League One following their disastrous relegation from the Championship at the end of the 2024-25 season.

But now the Bluebirds' boss has spoken about the rumours, and it doesn't seem likely that he will be going anywhere for the time being.

Brian Barry-Murphy's reaction to Strasbourg links at Cardiff City

Speaking after their 1-0 win against Wigan, Brian Barry-Murphy has poured cold water on the rumours linking him to a possible move to Strasbourg.

BBC Sport Wales have reported that, when quizzed on the recent reports,, Barry-Murphy said: "I don't know. I love Cardiff." Barry-Murphy added that he has been entirely focused on Cardiff's progress, adding that, "I didn't really know about it [the speculation], that's for sure."

His words will be a considerable relief to Cardiff City fans. Their team has stayed top of the League One table with a run which has seen them drop just five points from their last ten matches. With 51 points from 24 games, they could even be on for a 100-point season, with the Bluebirds looking capable of running away with the title at something of a canter following eight successive home victories.

The stories linking Brian Barry-Murphy to Strasbourg have come about as a result of a managerial change far higher up football's food chain. The Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca didn't even last 12 hours into the new year before being sacked, and it's expected that the former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior will be appointed as his replacement. It's not anticipated that there will be any major issues with this proceeding, since the owners of Chelsea also own Strasbourg, who are currently seventh in Ligue 1.

But Barry-Murphy's comments indicate that the Cardiff City manager is in no hurry to leave the club. His stock has risen considerably in recent years. Having spent three years at Manchester City running their Elite Development Squad, he moved to Leicester City as a first-team coach under Ruud Van Nistelrooy, leaving the club at the end of the 2024-25 season to assume the Cardiff position.

There's no question that his comments will soothe the nerves of all at Cardiff City. Continuity is important to any team seeking promotion from a competitive division, and having to find a replacement manager would have been about the last thing that the club would have wanted during the January transfer window.

Of course, it's always possible that things could change, and the Strasbourg position could be appealing to a number of managers because the experience of Liam Rosenior seems to indicate that there's a potential pathway towards the Chelsea managerial position by going there. But for the time being at least, Brian Barry-Murphy has given Cardiff City fans every reason to remain optimistic as the 2025-26 season progresses.