Brian Barry-Murphy has warned his Cardiff City players they may not be as good as their 4-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle suggests.
The Bluebirds continued their unbeaten start to the League One season with a commanding victory and are attempting to boost their ranks further by signing winger Omari Kellyman on loan from Chelsea.
But the post-match narrative was dominated not by the goals, but by the starkly different assessments of the two managers.
While Cardiff boss Barry-Murphy insisted the emphatic margin flattered his side, Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley had no hesitation in admitting there was a clear gulf between the teams.
The Bluebirds struck twice in quick succession before half-time, Ryan Wintle opening the scoring after a contentious build-up before Chris Willock doubled the lead with a shot that took a wicked deflection.
Rubin Colwill added a third early in the second half, again via a deflection, before substitute Isaak Davies smashed in a fourth in stoppage time.
The 4-0 scoreline may have looked comprehensive, but Barry-Murphy was at pains to stress that the contest – between two clubs relegated from the Championahip last season - had been more competitive than the result suggested.
“It was a really good day for us and I’m very happy to get a win against a team who we knew would be dangerous opponents,” he said.
“I think the scoreline is probably a little bit deceiving in terms of how many problems they caused us.
“But any day when you score four goals at home and give the supporters so much joy is a really happy one for us.”
Cleverley, however, saw it differently. While Argyle’s 3,000 travelling supporters might have pointed to the deflections or the possible handball by Cardiff’s Cian Ashford in the lead-up to Wintle’s opener, their head coach was unequivocal about the result.
“For me the scoreline was justified,” he said.
“I can’t sit here and say there wasn't four goals between the teams. I think there was a gulf in quality between the two sides.
“So how do we bridge that gap? That is by doing the basics well; tackling, running, communicating, details, set pieces, that's how we could bridge that gap today – and we didn't.
“They did that side of the game better than us – hence a convincing win for Cardiff today.”
READ MORE: Cardiff’s City’s Deadline Weekend To-Do List
Those comments effectively countered Barry-Murphy’s attempt to temper expectations among excited fans in the capital who got used to a losing team last season.
The Irishman argued that Cardiff’s pressing and organisation were as important as the goals themselves.
“It's pleasing that they're making such improvements so early in the season,” he added.
“When you come together in such a short period of time, it takes time to build a way of playing but we’re very pleased with the overall performance of the team.
“The guys at the back were protected a lot by the intensity of how we press; the midfield players covered a lot of distance today and they have to do so to give ourselves the chance to restrict an opponent as dangerous as Plymouth to so few chances.”
Cleverley, by contrast, placed responsibility squarely on his players and staff for not matching Cardiff’s intensity.
“We’re on a different stage of our journey to what the opposition are but we didn’t do the basics well enough,” he said.
“We all need to look at ourselves; what we can do better, whether it’s the players we recruit, the work we’re doing on the training field, the mentality of the players.
“We need to analyse why there is such a big gulf between two teams who finished pretty similarly last season – and strive to get better.”
READ MORE: Eli King Ruled out for Season, But Unbeaten Cardiff City Line up Defender
The clash was played against an emotional backdrop as Cardiff marked the anniversary of former captain Sol Bamba’s death.
Both sets of supporters rose for a minute’s applause on 14 minutes in tribute to the Ivorian, who wore that number during his time at the club.
At full-time, Barry-Murphy lifted a scarf bearing Bamba’s name, a gesture that drew a roar of appreciation from the home fans.
“My wife was really close to Chloe [Bamba’s wife] so she knows the family really well, so a real awareness of what they went through,” said Barry-Murphy.
“I lost my own friend [former Rochdale player Joe Thompson] to cancer recently, and I think it just makes you realise how fragile life is.
“We obsess about everything in football, but really, it's just a small part of people's lives.
“I think it was just important that for his [Bamba's] family and for our supporters to have that feeling of being connected.
“It will give a lot of people a lot of feeling of comfort in what is going to be a difficult time, bearing in mind how close it is to his anniversary.”
READ MORE: Cardiff City Striker Yousef Salech Reveals His Pain For Family Homeland
