Brian Barry Murphy links up with Ruud van Nistelrooy at Leicester City

Cork’s Brian Barry Murphy is the new assistant manager at Leicester City, with the coach working directly underneath Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The pair have been tasked with keeping the Foxes in the Premier League after a start to the season that has seen the club collect just three wins, which leaves them in real danger of relegation.

Barry Murphy moves to the King Power Stadium following a spell as manager of Manchester City’s EDS.

The coach worked directly with Pep Guardiola by making sure there was a direct line between the academy and the first team at The Etihad.

This involved nurturing players like Liam Delap, James McAtee, Oscar Bobb, Carlos Borges and Shea Charles.

Barry Murphy spent three years working with Manchester City and he won two Premier League 2 titles before departing earlier this year.

There was no hat-trick at the end of his tenure as a controversial format change to the PL2 played havoc with the Sky Blues’ way of operating, and it meant his side finished 23rd in the 26-team league.

Barry Murphy left shortly after the end of the season, saying that he took the team as far as he could.

The coach is known for possession-based football that prioritises passing out from the back, a hallmark that goes back to the manager’s time at Rochdale in the English lower leagues.

Barry Murphy will work directly with a Leicester City side that has struggled for form since winning promotion from the EFL Championship last term.

The Foxes went up as champions and they started life with respectable draws with Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.

It looked like things were going get better in October as the club enjoyed victories over Bournemouth and Southampton, but things fell apart as autumn turned to winter.

A 3-1 defeat at the Kingpower Stadium kickstarted a five-match winless run that accumulated with a loss to Chelsea and the club was marooned in 16th place after 12 matches.

FRESH START

Steve Cooper was sacked as a result of this and the Leicester City board turned to Van Nistelrooy following the former Netherlands international’s time working with Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United.

The Foxes immediately had an upturn in results as they managed to beat West Ham 3-1 at the Kingpower Stadium.

Leicester hosted Brighton & Hove Albion a week later and the game finished 2-2 with Jamie Vardy and Bobby Armani De Cordova-Reid scoring twice late on for the home side.

Van Nistelrooy was at St James Park before Christmas and his team was hammered 4-0 by Newcastle United.

Their first game in charge is against Premier League leaders Liverpool on St Stephen’s Day at Anfield.