Ex-Man City coach in running for Championship job as fans demand return of former Man Utd boss

North End are on the hunt for a new boss after Bury favourite Ryan Lowe left Deepdale after just one game of the new Championship season. Interim boss Mike Marsh, who had been Lowe’s assistant, also left the club after the 3-0 defeat at Swansea on Saturday.

Barry-Murphy, who left his postion as managing City’s Elite Development Squad last month, is now the bookies’ favourite for the role amid reports from the Lancashire Post that he would be interested in the position and has applied. Manchester World understands he was of interest to Sunderland in the summer as well.

The former midfielder played at Deepdale from 1999 to 2003. He then turned out more than 200 times for Bury before moving to Rochdale with the 46-year-old’s only senior managerial role being at Spotland. After a caretaker stint, Rochdale finished 18th in League One during the 2019/20 season and were relegated the campaign after, with Barry-Murphy resigning from his position that summer. He spent three years with City’s Under-21 side.

A section of North End fans however continue to clamour for a sensational return to Deepdale for David Moyes, who is rated at 11/1 for the role. The Scot finished his playing career with five years at North End in the 1990s before taking over as manager. His four years at the helm was enough for Everton to take him to Goodison Park where he spent more than a decade.

The former Manchester United boss, now 61, is out of work after leaving West Ham at the end of last season. Whether he would drop into the Championship is not clear but the move appears unlikely.

PNE director Peter Ridsdale said on the Moyes link: “Do I expect that to happen? I don’t, but that’s not because I know it won’t. I just didn’t expect it to happen. I think the thing that always makes me smile is that you may have another favourite when you talk to me tomorrow. I have no idea and that favouritism of the bookies is not based on any knowledge I’ve got.”