Once you've been involved in a match as chaotic, draining and utterly captivating as Cardiff City's remarkable 5-4 comeback win over Burnley, it makes sense to pause and take a moment to reflect.

It will have taken a while for heart rates to return to resting levels after Saturday's pandemonium at Cardiff City Stadium, where the hosts were 4-1 down with half an hour to go before staging the most dramatic of turnarounds.

The immediate aftermath was understandably a blur of excitement and high emotion but now, as the Championship enters its second international break of the season, it is an opportunity to assess the Bluebirds' campaign so far.

The Burnley encounter is a useful starting point – in many ways, a snapshot of the best and worst of Brian Barry-Murphy's Cardiff.

Since the Irishman was appointed head coach in the summer of 2025, he has instilled a thrilling style of play which has resulted in several high-scoring encounters.

In League One last season, more often than not, Cardiff were on the right side of those contests as they won promotion. But in the Championship, the results have been mixed.

Fifteen games into the campaign, the Bluebirds are 14th in the table, six points adrift of the play-off places and eight clear of the relegation zone.

There is some frustration they do not have more than their four wins, particularly as in most matches Cardiff have enjoyed more possession and shots on target than their opponents, as well as better expected goal (xG) statistics, but been unable to turn their dominance into victories.

On some occasions that has been due to their wasteful finishing, while on others it is a result of porous defending, not helped by an injury crisis at centre-back.

That was evident against Burnley, when Krystian Bielik and Will Fish played in central defence despite not being fully fit. And with neither being blessed with much pace in the first place, they were left badly exposed by Cardiff's high defensive line, which Burnley exploited.

Barry-Murphy acknowledged that vulnerability afterwards but said it was a risk he was willing to take in order to play the way he demands.

"I think we have to improve all aspects of our game," he said. "We work as hard on the defensive end of our game as our attacking players.

"We play a very aggressive game where our defenders are asked to cover big distances and probably have to be exposed at certain times.

"But you saw the potential of when we get it right we're so dangerous. When we don't it's difficult but you'll see the development of a young side. The improvement that they can get playing this way is very exciting for us all."

Barry-Murphy's point about the youth of his team is an important one.

Since his first day in the job, the former Manchester City Under-21s boss has put his faith in Cardiff's academy graduates – and to excellent effect.

Not only have they played a central role in winning promotion and introducing a bold new brand of football, but the fact they are young and Welsh has helped strengthen the club's identity and its bond with supporters.

Before drawing with West Ham last week, Cardiff had fewer points than they did at the same stage of the 2024-25 season, when they were relegated from the Championship.

However, the contrast in mood between the two campaigns could hardly be greater.

Two years ago, Cardiff had already sacked manager Erol Bulut after just six league games, and a toxic atmosphere was tearing the club apart.

Now, fans are fully behind Barry-Murphy and his players.

"The stuff you're referencing is a long way back and I wasn't here, so I'm not aware of it," Barry-Murphy said of that shift.

"But we believe in the players that we have, we believe we can have a great season."

Barry-Murphy has considerable credit in the bank having led Cardiff to League One promotion at the first attempt.

As a result, supporters have been more forgiving about the team's tribulations this season than they would have been the last time they were in the Championship.

For example, even after watching their side throw away a 3-0 lead in the West Ham draw, most fans highlighted Cardiff's mounting injury list and subsequently threadbare squad as mitigating factors for a result they would have gladly accepted beforehand.

The Bluebirds were without four senior centre-backs for that game, while at Wolves the previous weekend they ended the game with winger Ollie Tanner and central midfielder Joel Colwill operating as emergency full-backs.

Those issues were evident against Burnley as well, with Barry-Murphy revealing after the match that Bielik, Fish, Perry Ng and match-winner Alex Robertson had all played through pain, such was their desperation to get their team through this difficult period.

Cardiff's injury crisis has intensified the scrutiny of the club's transfer dealings.

Chairman Mehmet Dalman, chief executive Ken Choo and head of recruitment Patrick Deboys were all criticised after a summer window during which the Bluebirds only brought in four players, two of whom had already been on loan at the club last season.

Barry-Murphy did not escape judgement either. Unsurprisingly, he is supportive of the board and owner Vincent Tan in interviews, and the Irish coach has said that he himself is very selective about signings, unwilling to compromise by bringing in players he does not view as substantial improvements on his current squad.

His trust in Cardiff academy players is admirable, and the number of Bluebirds earning senior Wales call-ups because of their club form is testament to the work Barry-Murphy and his staff are doing.

At the same time, however, the squad is thin in places and recent injuries have exposed a lack of strength in depth.

Six of the nine substitutes against West Ham were academy products, and former Celtic midfielder David Turnbull was the only player on the bench with more than 100 career league starts to his name.

While the Hammers, admittedly a Premier League side only last season, were able to introduce seasoned players such as Tomas Soucek and Joel Piroe in the second half, Cardiff had precious few options to turn to as their injury-hit first-teamers tired.

The Championship is a gruelling competition which demands a squad capable of withstanding the rigours of a 46-game league season.

Barry-Murphy and Cardiff's board must use the January transfer window to address some of those issues and ensure this promising campaign in the second tier does not end like the last one.