Ireland international 'in no doubt' as he makes Brian Barry-Murphy job prediction

Brian Barry-Murphy has been tipped as a future Republic of Ireland manager after earning glowing praise from former Ireland star Andy Townsend.

The Cardiff City boss enhanced his reputation after guiding the Bluebirds straight back out of League One at the first attempt, with his impressive work in south Wales continuing to attract admiring glances elsewhere.

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Barry-Murphy has already been linked with a number of jobs during his stint in CF11. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.

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Last year, both Middlesbrough and Celtic were mentioned as admirers, while reports last week suggested Burnley had “made checks on” the Cardiff manager following his promotion-winning campaign.

Now Townsend believes the former Manchester City academy coach could one day be in the frame for the Republic of Ireland national team role.

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Speaking about Barry-Murphy’s rise, Townsend told BetVictor: “Brian Barry-Murphy has had a great season at Cardiff City - he'll have benefitted from working at big clubs under big managers.

“Brian Barry-Murphy was the academy director at Manchester City for a few years. I think we see a pathway now. In years gone by, there just wasn't a genuine pathway for assistant managers or coaches to find their way to a number one, to become a manager.

“But now there's a pathway where there are opportunities given for some of these younger coaches to get opportunities and Brian has certainly done that. He's had a great season at Cardiff, let's see how they get on in the Championship.

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“I think the experience that he's had, he's worked at some big clubs, he will have seen how the big managers work.”

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Ex-Chelsea and Aston Villa man Townsend believes the next step for Barry-Murphy will be proving himself in the Championship, but says another strong campaign could see him enter conversations around the Ireland job in future.

“Let's see how he handles the Championship - he could be linked with the Republic of Ireland job,” Townsend added.

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“So I think he's done really well at Cardiff, he'll be relishing the prospect of playing Championship football again. Let's see how they handle, let's see how they go.

“Football is so up and down, things can change in a heartbeat, particularly at clubs in the Championship, you can have what looks like a really handy little team on paper, and all of a sudden a Premier League team come and buy two or three of your best players to change the landscape completely.

“I wish him all the best. He's come a long way in the game and he knows that anything can happen.

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“So if he has another very strong campaign at Cardiff, then absolutely he will no doubt be someone that is being talked up to get the Ireland job if Heimir Hallgrímsson doesn't continue to improve.”

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