The future’s Brighton for Murphy, especially if he can make the cut for Scotland
Scotland winger Jamie Murphy insists being included in Gordon Strachan’s final squad for the World Cup clash with England would be the icing on the cake following unforgettable highs on and off the park.
The former Motherwell forward became a dad for the third time last month, just two days before he helped brighton clinch their return to the English top flight for the first time in 34 years.
And there could be more drama for Murphy to experience before the summer is over after he was included in Strachan’s provisional 29-man pool for the game against England at Hampden on 10 June.
The squad is set to be pared down after this weekend’s Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Aberdeen and Murphy reckons life on and off the pitch could not get much better. He said: “It’s been a good year all round. We worked hard all year to get to the Premier League and to finally get there is great.
“I’ve also just become a dad for the third time to Jay, that’s three in three years. We’ve already got Sofie and Hallie and they’re all doing great.
“My wife had the wee one on the Saturday night and we got promoted on the Monday.
“I’ve not been away this summer but I wasn’t planning on going away on holiday anyway. We just moved into a new house back in Glasgow so this summer was more about coming back home for six, seven weeks, seeing friends and family and spending a bit of time back in Scotland.
“Then there’s the Scotland squad – you don’t get many bigger games than Scotlandengland. So it’s one I’m looking forward to.
“Getting named in the squad is a great thing for me but when it cuts down you want to be in it.
“That’s down to the manager, if I’m in it fantastic, and I’ll go and try to contribute to the squad.
“If not, I’ll work harder and try and get in others.” l Jamie Murphy was speaking to promote the SPFL Trust’s Mental Health First Aid programme. He was participating at a fundraising event in partnership with the Chris Mitchell Foundation, set up last month in memory of the former Clyde and Falkirk player who took his own life last year.