'I love Cardiff' - Barry-Murphy cools Strasbourg talk

Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has played down speculation linking him to French club Strasbourg and instead stated his "love" for the Bluebirds.

According to reports in France, Barry-Murphy is one of the people Strasbourg are considering as a successor should their current boss Liam Rosenior take over at Chelsea.

Former Hull head coach Rosenior is the leading contender to succeed Enzo Maresca following the Italian's departure from Chelsea earlier this month.

Strasbourg are owned by investment vehicle BlueCo - the consortium set up to purchase Chelsea in 2022.

Asked what he made of the reports linking him to the Ligue 1 club, Barry-Murphy said: "I don't know. I love Cardiff.

"I love being at Cardiff, I love it. I feel very lucky to be here."

Barry-Murphy has enjoyed an excellent first six months at Cardiff, leading the Bluebirds to the top of League One and instilling an exciting brand of attacking football.

The Welsh club maintained their three-point lead at the top of the table with a 1-0 home win over Wigan Athletic on Sunday.

Former Manchester City Under-21s boss Barry-Murphy chose to focus on Cardiff matters after the game, rather than reported interest from France.

"I didn't really know about it [the speculation], that's for sure," he added.

"I think we can improve a lot, and the players are also very excited. To win three and draw one of our four games in this 10-day period is something that I'm very grateful for.

"We just focus on ourselves and try to keep improving all the time.

"I'm so pleased with the players and how they are doing that. I feel very lucky to be with them."