The Bluebirds boss spoke after his side beat Wimbledon in convincing fashion on Tuesday night
Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy(Image: Huw Evans Media)
Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy said his players have eased an “uneasy feeling” he had leading into the Wimbledon games after a comprehensive win — and believes fierce competition from the bench is fuelling their remarkable goal spree.
The Bluebirds have now scored 16 goals in their last five matches, continuing a run of form in front of goal that has blown away opponents and strengthened their promotion push.
But Barry-Murphy revealed he had been wary heading into the latest fixture despite the team’s free-scoring form.
“Very, very pleased,” he said after the comprehensive win. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.
“I had an uneasy feeling for the last couple of days because I knew how dangerous Wimbledon were and saw how many goals they scored at Barnsley and before that.
“So I knew the game wouldn’t be straightforward and I’m very, very pleased to get the performance and result in the end.”
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Cardiff’s attacking confidence has been evident in recent weeks, with goals flying in from different contributors all over the pitch, but the manager felt there was still more to come.
“I didn’t think in the first half our attacking play was of the same quality as it was on Saturday against Luton,” he explained.
“I thought we got to where we wanted to get to in terms of 1v1 situations in wide areas and central areas. But our technique in terms of how we crossed the pass needed to be improved.
“And in the second half we did that and got the rewards we needed to. But I guess it’s just a sign that we have the potential to improve so much and that’s probably the biggest thing in our focus at the moment.”
Barry-Murphy has long spoken about his side’s ability to problem-solve mid-game, and he believes the driving force behind that sharpness is the quality waiting in reserve.
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“I think the players on the pitch, you know, they feel the pressure of who’s on the bench,” he said.
“Cian Ashford’s been flying and is really looking to play, Ronan Kpakio the same, Rubin’s [Colwill] back fit now. So all those players know that they have to produce because the competition within the squad is so fierce and that’s a huge driving factor in itself.”
That theory was underlined again by the impact of his wide players. Ollie Tanner’s rich vein of form has seen him rack up eight assists and a goal in seven games, and Barry-Murphy was delighted with his response after a quieter first half.
“Really pleased to have him come back so strongly in the form he’s in,” he said.
“He had a lot of situations in the first half where he didn’t quite produce what he or we would have wanted. So we were looking for a big impact from him in the second half and thankfully he gave it.”
The late goal for Omari Kellyman — created by substitute Callum Robinson — also served as a perfect example of the internal competition pushing standards higher. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
“The Omari Kellyman goal was very important for us,” Barry-Murphy added. “Callum Robinson wants to be getting more minutes and playing and his assist for that was perfect, you know, he understood the right movement and the pass for Omari and Omari finished the goal really well.
“So all those feelings of how competitive it needs to be are there and it’s very helpful for me to have that.”
Joel Colwill’s resurgence was also praised, with the midfielder, who opened the scoring with a fine effort, now reaping the rewards of consistent improvement.
“I think it’s another example of how important it is to remain focused on improving your game all the time,” Barry-Murphy said. “Joel’s improved the parts of his game that we feel he needed to and he wanted to. And now he’s reaping the rewards of that.
“If they keep doing what Joel and those guys are doing, then the opportunity is around the corner and you can’t fail to succeed really.”
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