Cardiff City cult hero Jay Bothroyd has backed his former team-mate Stephen McPhail to take up a senior football role at the club amid continued calls to bolster the football operation at board level.
Bothroyd believes McPhail would be an ideal appointment if Cardiff decide to bring in a director of football or head of football operations, pointing to his knowledge of the club and experience in the role at Shamrock Rovers.
McPhail's Cardiff return mooted
McPhail was recently spotted in the directors' box at Cardiff City Stadium alongside former Bluebirds team-mate and current Wales boss Craig Bellamy for the 3-1 win over Charlton Athletic. The former midfielder has already been linked with a potential return to Cardiff in a football operations capacity, although chairman Mehmet Dalman said the club are not currently ready to have that discussion.
Bothroyd, however, believes McPhail has the credentials to be a success. "Cardiff are a huge club with huge potential, and they've got a very good manager in Brian Barry-Murphy, so hopefully they can build something and return to the Premier League," Bothroyd said.
"They've got some quality players, but the Championship is relentless, with 46 league games in amongst cup games and everything else, so I just wonder whether they have the depth to be competing at the top end of the table right now. As I say, they have some very good players, so it's up to the ownership to invest, allow them to keep the players they have, and add a bit more depth to that squad."
Bothroyd praises McPhail's pedigree
On the possibility of Cardiff appointing a director of football, he added: "I know there's been some talk of a director of football, and I always think if you're going to go down that route, it's worth having an ex-player and somebody that knows the club and has been successful there. First and foremost, Stephen McPhail was a great player, and very technically gifted, so no doubt he'd be looking to bring in players with similar attributes."
"He'd be a great acquisition as a director of football because he was there for some of the great years that Cardiff have had, and having that knowledge and experience for the manager to lean on would surely be a positive thing."
McPhail spent five years as a Cardiff player, playing alongside Bothroyd, and was part of the side which reached the FA Cup final in 2008 and Championship play-off final a year later. He ended his playing career in 2016 before moving into football operations with Shamrock Rovers, where he spent nine years as sporting director before stepping down in December 2025.
His return to Cardiff has been a subject of growing interest in recent months, with the former Ireland international also having met Barry-Murphy during the club's pre-season trip to Cork.
Lawlor tipped for top
Bothroyd, who was speaking in partnership with Betway, also believes Cardiff must do everything they can to keep hold of Dylan Lawlor amid interest from bigger clubs. The 20-year-old defender made his first appearance of the season as a substitute against Charlton after recovering from a knee injury and remains one of the most coveted young players in the Cardiff squad.
Bothroyd believes Lawlor, who had serious interest from West Ham as well as abroad in the summer, has all the ingredients to play at the highest level. "One of the players Cardiff have to try and keep hold of is Dylan Lawlor, and I know there's already been interest from a number of big clubs, but I believe he has all the attributes to be a top defender," he said.
"He reads the game well, for someone so young, his distribution is good, and he's aggressive, so I'm sure he has ambitions of playing in the Premier League, and as I say, he has all the attributes to make it there. It's not easy to turn down those Premier League offers when you're in the Championship, but it would be great if Cardiff could keep hold of him for a few more years, and who knows, maybe he'll fulfil those Premier League ambitions with the Bluebirds."
Lawlor enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last season, winning Cardiff's Young Player of the Season, earning Wales honours and attracting interest from a host of clubs. West Ham's admiration for the defender is longstanding, while Cardiff have also seen scouts from Champions League and Europa League clubs monitor his progress. The Bluebirds' stance has remained clear, though, with Barry-Murphy viewing Lawlor as an important part of his long-term project.
Salech urged to add to his game
At the other end of the pitch, Bothroyd also knows better than most what it takes to lead the line for Cardiff, having scored 45 goals in 133 appearances for the club between 2008 and 2011. The former striker has urged Yousef Salech to add more to his all-round game when he is not finding the net.
Salech scored in Cardiff's 3-1 victory over Charlton before the international break, ending a difficult spell in front of goal, during which he spurned a number of big chances, and strengthening his position as Barry-Murphy's first-choice striker. But Bothroyd, who also counts a remarkable 32 assists to his name in a Bluebirds shirt, believes the Denmark-born star needs to find other ways to influence matches when the goals are not coming.
"Leading the line for Cardiff comes with pressure, but I was the kind of player that liked that pressure and thrived off it, so hopefully Yousef Salech is the same," he said. "I did have players such as Craig Bellamy, Michael Chopra and Ross McCormack playing around me, which makes life easier as a striker, but you've got to be clinical when you get your chances.
"When I look at Yousef Salech, I think he needs to add a bit to his game, because when you're not scoring, you have to be helping the team in other ways. Whether that's assists or the pass before the assist, I think he needs to get hold of the ball a bit better, and he needs to make better runs. It's not easy stepping up a division, but hopefully he can adapt. When you do start scoring, though, there's no better place than Cardiff to be one of the star players and be leading the line."
