Striker rivalry can fire Reds to top
MURPHY RELISHING COMPETITION FOR GOALSCORING HONOURS
DARYL Murphy wants to beat Lewis Grabban to the title of Nottingham Forest’s top goal scorer this season - but will still relish every goal his rival nets as if it was his own.
The former Irish international says the competition between the two of them is ‘brilliant’ and, while he does hope to come out on top by the end of the season, he insists the most important thing is the progress of Aitor Karanka’s team as a whole.
Murphy has four goals in seven starts and one sub appearance to his name so far, while Grabban has bagged five goals in eight starts and four sub appearances with all those goals coming in his last six games.
The 35-year-old says he will do everything he can to finish the campaign as top scorer at the City Ground - but is more concerned about seeing the Reds secure the top six finish they crave.
“Do you know what, it is brilliant,” said Murphy, when asked about his rivalry with Grabban. “The two of us are different types of players. But the manager, whichever game he sees fit for either one of us to start - we could not be more supportive of each other.
“I want him to go and do well, even if at the same time, you want your opportunity to go and do well.
“It is really good for us at the moment. We have not spoken about who will score the most goals this season, but he is ahead now, so I will have to try to catch him.
“It is something you take note of, if you are a striker. You want to score as many goals as you can
and you want to be the top scorer.
“But with this team, everyone is pulling together in the right direction.
“If you get into the team, you want to do well for the team, not just for yourself. That is the main thing this season.”
Forest are unbeaten in their last seven games and, with the exception of the Millwall game, have produced some impressive performances during that run.
“It does feel as though things are coming together now, yes. It was always going to be difficult with that amount of players coming in, for us to hit the ground running,” said Murphy, who saw 16 signings arrive in the summer.
“There are good players who cannot even get into the 18. It is all good for competition.”