Manchester City Elite Development Squad boss Brian Barry-Murphy is relishing his first game in charge ahead of Sunday's Premier League 2 season opener against Liverpool.
After two years in charge of Rochdale, the former Bury and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder left the League Two club back in June, before being appointed as the Elite Development Squad boss at the Etihad Stadium last month.
Barry-Murphy's main aim this season will be to help City's youngsters successfully defend their Premier League 2 title, whilst he will also be learning what it takes to manage at this level.
However, the 43-year-old is looking forward to the challenge and is eager for the season to get underway, starting with Sunday's trip to Liverpool, who finished seventh in the standings last season.
"I think it’ll be great for everyone to just get into the games, myself included," Barry-Murphy told City's club website.
"Naturally, there’s an element of not quite knowing where we are in preparation but that’s a continuation from last year, and the players and club showed how adaptive they were in the way they faced every challenge that came.
"These games are totally different for me to be involved in and I just can’t wait to see what it looks like really.
"The players will get into a rhythm and it’ll be exciting for everyone to see how we progress off the back of last season."
Barry-Murphy's exit from Rochdale less than two months ago brought his 11-year association with the club to an end, spending time at the Crown Oil Arena as both a player and as manager.
Although the new Elite Development Squad chief is excited about life at the Etihad Stadium, he has admitted that he has received no shortage of support from the Rochdale supporters.
Barry-Murphy continued: "The support I’ve had from the fans since I left has been amazing. It’s been synonymous of my time at Rochdale really, it’s been an amazing club for me.
"I suppose like a lot of clubs, a lot of the stuff that’s gone on over the last twelve months has been under the radar and the connection with the fans over that period has been a lot about personal stuff.
"A lot of families in the area have lost people due to Covid and I suppose with it being a smaller club, you get to have that real direct contact with supporters.
"When they lose members of their family and inform you of what’s going on, it hits hard, and that’s been significant for me in terms of the support I’ve had when they realised I was leaving.
"It was humbling really and gave a nice send-off to what has been a long and enjoyable 11 years."
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