Brian Barry-Murphy is a man on a mission.
As he prepares for his first season in charge of Cardiff City, the recently appointed manager has made his objective crystal clear: he aims to take the Bluebirds straight back to the Championship at the first attempt.
“Promotion is absolutely the target,” the Irishman said, speaking ahead of his debut match in charge this weekend at home to Peterborough United on Saturday.
“That hasn't changed from the first day I spoke about our ambitions. I can’t fudge that one.”
Bookmakers DragonBet currently rate Cardiff as one of the leading contenders for promotion, but only third favourites behind the likes of Huddersfield and Luton Town.
But for Barry-Murphy, those odds reflect only the baseline.
“We expect to be at the top of the table. Our supporters do,” he said.
That conviction lies at the heart of everything Barry-Murphy has set in motion since taking over at Cardiff City Stadium this summer.
The 47-year-old has already won admirers among players with the intensity and structure of his training sessions.
His insistence on a more controlled, possession-based playing style should please supporters who have grown weary with the only thing worse than watching a losing team . . . watching an ugly losing team.
The hope for Bluebirds fans – and those more widely who care about the general health of Welsh football – is that Cardiff can literally bounce straight back from relegation to League One.
Dead cats – in the form of plunging share prices – often bounce upward, according to financial analysts and the same can sometimes happen to football clubs.
It happened in League One last season to Birmingham City, although the springs in their heels came from a takeover, new hirings, and new investment, only one of which has occurred at Cardiff.
This is Barry-Murphy’s second experience of senior management, having previously had a spell at Rochdale, where he was applauded for his possession-based philosophy under financial constraints.
But it’s his time as head coach of Manchester City’s elite development squad – working under the shadow of Pep Guardiola – that has shaped his footballing ideals and caught Cardiff’s attention.
“It's very dominant, it's very attack-minded and I believe the more we attack, the more we control the amount of attacks the opposition has. It's a core belief,” Barry-Murphy explained.
“I don't always focus on the individual profiles of the defenders or the goalkeeper, for example.
READ MORE: Bookies Back Cardiff City For League One Promotion Push
“It's a way of playing that I believe will give us the best chance to win, dominate games and minimise opportunities opponents have on our goal.”
That clear vision represents a significant departure from recent seasons, during which Cardiff fans have been subjected to featureless stuff, which often reverted to a crude, long-ball approach whenever they fell behind.
It all resulted in uninspired, unattractive, football with poor outcomes under a revolving door of managers – Barry-Murphy is the ninth in just four years.
But the former Manchester City and Leicester City coach is determined to chase promotion whilst also building a new identity in the process.
“We want to be a young, dynamic team full of potential,” he said.
Cardiff’s transfer activity, though, has been non-existent so far this summer, but Barry-Murphy insists the club is focused on getting the right players, not just more of them.
“We're looking to add quality, not quantity. We have a clear idea of the players we want, and we're prepared to be patient to get the right fit,” he said.
“The players we bring into the club have to have the capacity and mentality to deliver on our vision.”
He also rejects any suggestion that as takeover talk has swirled around the club this summer – sometimes fronted by occasional headlines but little detail delivered by Gareth Bale – a transfer block has been imposed from the current hierarchy.
"The stuff from the outside in terms of takeovers or whatever may happen is irrelevant to me.“
The board have shown me a real assurance and commitment to bringing the players that we want."
He has inherited a club with undeniable potential but also considerable baggage.
Cardiff have not played in League One for 22 years and fans are desperate for a return to the Championship.
The manager, however, is keen to look forward, not back.
“It's probably hard for me to quantify what that feeling was at the end of last season,” he said.
“I genuinely use the supporters almost as an example for the players. There's not been one reference to last season, everything's been about this season, this pre-season, the games coming up and what they hope to achieve in terms of what they want to see.”
That hope is pinned on a new era of exciting, front-foot football – and results to match.
“We want to be intent on attacking as much as possible. Our goal is to create excitement and show real personality in our performances,” Barry-Murphy insisted.
“We can’t guarantee we’re going to win. We can guarantee what we look like in terms of how aggressive we are and how much personality we show in the performance.”
On Saturday, Barry-Murphy will lead Cardiff into their opening match and the first real test of his bold new project.
“I've been really pleased,” he said.
“The players understand what’s important to us. We’ve done a really good block of work.”
Now, he must turn that work into results.
The goal is clear, and the belief runs deep. Promotion may be a tall order, but Barry-Murphy has made it the only one that matters.
