There was a huge sigh of relief inside the King Power Stadium on Saturday as Leicester City’s barren run of form came to an end.
Leicester thumped Queens Park Rangers 6-2 to advance to the FA Cup Fourth Round where the Foxes will face Manchester United away in an emotional game for Ruud van Nistelrooy.
QPR may have made six changes to their side but Leicester needed that win and to score six goals in the process will do their confidence the world of good.
It seems that a new face is also imminent as transfer target Woyo Couliably was left out of the Parma squad on Sunday.
But whilst new additions on the pitch are a must this window, it seems that one recent arrival to the East Midlands is already making an impact and could be key in the battle against relegation.
Brian Barry-Murphy has been a great addition to Leicester City
A lot was made about the lack of coaches Van Nistelrooy had brought to the club following his appointment back in November, but, his team is finally taking shape.
Jelle ten Rouwelaar was the first name brought into the Foxes’ coaching staff but it’s the more recent appointment of Brian Barry-Murphy that has seemingly sparked an uplift in performances.
Barry-Murphy is a highly-rated coach and has been endorsed by Pep Guardiola for the work he did with Manchester City’s youth sides, which included back-to-back league titles with the Under-21s, as well as develop the likes of Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia into the stars they are today.
His presence has become more prominent with each game week that goes by and is often spotted liasing with Van Nistelrooy on the touchline and the former Republic of Ireland international is hands-on himself.
In addition to taking the warm-up before games, Barry-Murphy is also barking instructions all game and is one of the first to greet the players at full-time.
His arrival has also seen the Foxes become far more competitive in games, play a better brand of football and crucially, earn a second win under Van Nistelrooy.
What has Ruud van Nistelrooy said about Brian Barry-Murphy?
News of Barry-Murphy’s appointment as Van Nistelrooy’s number two did catch some people by surprise, with many thinking he was destined to go on and take the managers job somewhere else, but Leicester are lucky to have him.
It’s no surprise to see him involved heavily on the training ground and on matchdays given his work under Guardiola and back in December, following confirmation of his arrival, Van Nistelrooy hinted he would play a big role.
The Leicester boss said: “It’s a very important factor in the translation of the game model to the training pitch, developing the team, the unit and individual to the max.
“He is excellent in that and I’m very happy to add him to the team.”
Leave a Reply