Having made a fine start to the defence of our PL2 crown, the focus for City’s Under-21s is now trained on Europe and an eye-catching opening UYL group clash away to Sevilla.
In the wake of last Saturday’s fine 4-1 league win over West Ham, the City youngsters jetted out to Spain on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s eagerly-awaited match-up in great spirits.
And as far as the EDS head coach is concerned, the prospect of his City charges new tackling such top quality European opposition is one they should all relish.
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“What an absolute privilege it is for us all to be involved in the UEFA Youth League,” Barry-Murphy declared.
“We get the chance to go out and play our game and give our players an experience of what it’s like to play in European football.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for any player, let alone players in our age bracket.
“European competition is extremely exciting – the experiences we got last season were incredible.
“For us, we’re looking to go and play with the same style that we have in PL2 but the challenge will be so much different.
“And we’ll be very excited to see how we adapt to that and impose our own game on opponents who we probably won’t know much about.
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“We are going to a different country to take on a great club who have an extremely talented group of players.
“So, to do that and then go to watch the first team play in the evening its incredible – we are all hugely excited at the prospect.”
For his part, Barry-Murphy also believes the challenge of City pitting our pits against unfamiliar opposition is also another vital part of the learning curve for his players.
But though the opposition and nature of the challenge may be new, the principles and approach that underpin the EDS’s approach to the game will remain the same.
“For our players its going into the unknown in a lot of senses,” Barry-Murphy added.
“That sense of not knowing what you are going to face will be extremely exciting because you have to adapt in game and be willing to overcome every challenge.
“That is something that our club is synonymous with, and we’ll be looking to demonstrate that no matter what happens on Tuesday.
“We’re looking for a performance that embodies everything that we want to be as a club.
“Obviously, the result at the end of the day it’s something that we can’t always control bit we will be very focused on playing to a style and a strength these players are capable of doing.”
