Q&A with Rochdale AFC Manager Brian Barry-Murphy

Style caught up with Rochdale AFC manager, Brian Barry-Murphy to discuss the season so far, how he keeps a positive mindset - and his love for Oprah.

What are your thoughts on the season so far?

It's been the most amazing journey for all of us really. It’s encompassed every different type of experience, both positive and difficult. We’ve had the most exhilarating, spine tingling moments, like going to Man Utd and having amazing cup success and then having loads and loads of players injured and barely being able to field a team. But then putting up performances like we did that night at Old Trafford; one of the most memorable nights in the club’s history, if not the most.

And to have the game against Newcastle was an amazing experience for everyone and really portrayed our town in the most positive light.

We’ve had huge individual recognition for our players, such as Luke Matherson moving to Wolves, Ian Henderson receiving North West Player of the Year. And loads of attention being given to young players in our Academy.

So there’s been individual and collective real achievements and loads of adversity on the other side of it. But the players have overcome every challenge and we’ve always bounced back, irrespective of how difficult it’s been, and that’s been the overriding theme of the season so far. And that’s what we’re focusing on as we head into the final part of this season really.

Are the team feeling positive about the rest of the season?

We’re going to attack these last ten games. We’re in a position of strength now with all of our big players coming back to full fitness. The players are really driven to show what we’re about and how good we think we are and that will be reflected in our league position at the end of the season.

How do you feel about Luke Matherson being sold to Wolves?

I think Luke is an example of what our club is all about. We look after our young players and give them every opportunity to be the best they can be. The ones that excel will never be stopped from progressing or kept at the club for selfish reasons. We don’t talk about what we’re going to do for our young players – we just do it. The proof is in the pudding with that.

Following Luke's million pound transfer, how is the club planning to invest it?

The club always look to invest every type of finance we get sensibly and in the best interests of everyone. I’m obviously not directly responsible for that but I would imagine all different aspects of the club will be helped. A large part of our income over the years has been player sales and reinvesting that back into the club.

The big thing on the horizon is investment in a training ground, which is high priority and there seems to be progress being made at the moment. This season we’ve been based at Rochdale Cricket Club which has been brilliant for the players as they’ve had a hub as such, but the next step is for us to get our own base.

Hopefully there will be investment in player recruitment this summer and we can excite the fans with some new signings.

On the last day of the transfer deadline, when Luke was sold to Wolves, David Bottomley (Chief Executive of RAFC) was working right until the end of the window trying to acquire a player for us which would have been a club record signing. David put hours and hours of work into that so it was disappointing not to be able to get it over the line, but he’s not one to give up and I think he’ll definitely be looking to reward the supporters with that in the summer.

There’s a wide range of ages in the squad - how does this affect the team?

It’s a fascinating and unique aspect of the squad. The older brigade nurture the younger players and give them an environment where they feel liberated and learn to express themselves. And it keeps the older players really vibrant and looking to improve themselves, so it really works both ways. It’s a brilliant dynamic really.

What has been your personal highlight of the season so far?

The two significant fixtures that stand out in my mind are Accrington Stanley, a big local derby, where we brought a huge amount of our fans. It came at the end of a very difficult run of games where a lot of people were saying we were playing well but not getting the results. But we stuck to our principles and really played well.

The other one was probably Rotherham with 15 year old Ethan Brierley on the bench, we really struggled to put out a team, and no one gave us a chance, but we put on a display for our supporters that day that was immense.

Did you and the team enjoy the press attention for the high profile games?

Some of the players like it more than others I think! Some of them love a bit of attention and others, I’m thinking Callum Camps in particular, hate it.

For myself and the rest of the club it’s very important because it gives us a chance to portray, on a national and international level, the values and the traits that we know exist in our club and reward the people who do all the unsung work behind the scenes.

The way that we’ve been received by the media, and supporters from other clubs, and the respect and admiration we’re now being shown is long overdue.

What distinguishes Rochdale from other clubs?

The way our club does things is totally different from the large majority of clubs in the UK in that we do things within our means. There’s loads of clubs that have ended up in the conference or been relegated right out of the league that have just spent loads of money and every summer would sign players and totally change their squad - they had no real identity. Our club, in my eyes, is a club that brings through our own young players, puts them in a first team environment and puts them on the path to what can be an extraordinary career.

It can create a very special feeling when you get success knowing that you haven’t taken any shortcuts and the supporters always seem to be behind that, even when we drive them mad with some bad performances or bore them to death; they always seem to put up with it as long as they know that we’re doing our best.

You’ve got a great fan base in Rochdale. What’s the best thing about Dale supporters?

We’re constantly looking to increase our fan base. The support for the club throughout the whole town is immense. Everywhere I stop off in Rochdale, in every part of the community, people know about the team, the academy, the staff. I was always amazed that we didn’t have much more of an attendance for league games but the people who come are amazing. I think the whole town is right behind the club. And at the actual games the patience and the understanding from our supporters has been humbling at times really. The couple of times where I’ve sensed the real frustrations amongst our own supporters I think has been entirely justified and we try to respond to it. That connection between the supporters and the team has been brilliant and long may that continue.

You always seem to keep a very positive mindset, irrespective of the result. What keeps you motivated?

It’s just something that I’ve learnt. The most beneficial experiences are when things go wrong, that’s the best form of learning you can get.

I just became process-obsessed in terms of the way we do things. Everybody wants to win and

everybody wants to get the results. But to get those results takes constant application of the same traits over and over again; the minute you start changing that process you’re just ‘making it up’, you’re just hoping things happen.

I know from past experiences that the best rewards are when you’ve gone through really tough spells and you know at the end of it things will turn your way. And when that actually happens it all makes sense.

How's your work/life balance?

Work/life balance in football can be very difficult; it’s pretty intense in terms of the games and training schedule. It’s something that I haven’t mastered yet. The key things are to eat well and exercise well and I used to be brilliant at that, but now I'm not as good. Still reading a lot though, so that’s always good for me. I can be reading all the time, I love it.

What do you do to switch off?

Movies, music and Ireland! My music is often laughed at, but it is my own taste.

If I ever want to really feel good about everything I just go to Ireland. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with England, I love England. But for me, the minute I land in Ireland, everything feels different, it’s amazing.

My fiancée Sarah [Sarah-Jane Crawford] and my daughter Eleanor have a huge part to play in helping me to switch off because they won’t accept the football chat. So if I’m with the both of them, it means I won’t be allowed to ruminate about football problems.

If you weren’t involved in football – what other career could you see yourself in?

My fiancée Sarah is obviously a very good radio presenter and I’ve had some practice with her. I think I would have done well at that career. Purely because of the accent.

Who inspires you?

Other than Pep, I would say when we met Mauricio Pochettino we were in awe of him, his vision for the game and his mindset; he could see things were going to happen before they happened, he was amazing. I read all of his books before I got home that day.

I look at a lot of psychology and mindset stuff. I love Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith - the lads think I’m off my head.

We have our own psychology expert in the club now, Gareth Morgan, who is from the FA, he’s the go-to guy for all the players in terms of the different things they go through on and off the pitch, but no one uses him more than me. He’s a huge part of our club and he does it on a voluntary basis.

But the most significant person was my father. He was my first example of what a manager looks and acts like because he was managing teams when I was very young and I got to see that in an Irish sporting capacity. So I probably had a very unfair advantage over other people!

And the likes of Tony Robbins, who is a life coach, but speaks about stuff that references sport and football.

But I would say, Oprah is still the best.

Ruth Parkinson