Barry-Murphy focuses on promotion, not opinions

Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy says he is not focused on opinions about Cardiff City's recent form and only on achieving an "extraordinarily special" promotion.

The Bluebirds are second in the League One table - seven points clear of third placed Bradford - with six games remaining, a game more than most of their promotion rivals.

One of those teams, Bolton Wanderers, are the next visitors to Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday 11, April (12.30 BST).

Barry-Murphy's side go in to the Bolton game after a 1-1 draw at Peterborough United. It means they have only managed two wins in their last eight matches.

Some fans even booed the team after their last home game - a 0-0 draw with Blackpool.

"I think anyone's opinion on where we're at or what we've done is valid, it's an opinion, but it's not part of our focus," said Barry-Murphy.

"When I was a younger coach I would jump to the defence of my players and my club because it was a reaction, but I now have more experience, I understand what gets said, where we're at and our focus is just on the next game.

"I think the supporters have to feel whatever they feel. It's perfectly normal. We can't hide away from it. We are in a position where we have a great opportunity to do something extraordinarily special and we have to accept that challenge and then try and do it.

"The focus for ourselves is always on the next game because the permutations of trying to figure out what will happen or what may happen in the future, what other teams do, is not only a waste of our time, it tends to take away the focus from what is the most important thing."

Cardiff have been in the automatic promotion places for the majority of the season and that form has allowed Barry-Murphy's side to drop points in recent games yet maintain their lofty league position.

When asked if he has a points target for their final six games, Barry-Murphy said: "My most important message is absolutely not. You know, we have to focus on trying to win on Saturday and that is my sole and most important focus at the moment for the players.

"Anybody outside of the club who wants to think about that is fine but the next game is the most important game because it's all we can control.

"We're going to do our best to try and win [against Bolton], but there's been must-win games throughout the course of the season - it's a term that's used in whatever way you want, but we'll try and win it for sure.

"I mean you could go right back to the Bradford game, it was apparently a statement victory. But it's just a story that's made up before and after the game and in the bigger scheme of things within the dressing room - the players all know it means nothing.

"The message to the players is it's clearly a very big game because it's our next game. And if we win, it's going to be a brilliant result for us."