If Rangers can sign Murphy they’ll have one of the very best players in Scotland
SAYS MARK McGHEE
His pace and ability to beat a man would make him a real asset at Ibrox
FIVE years away from Scottish football have made Jamie Murphy stronger in mind and body. Securing his return in a £1million-plus deal would, Mark McGhee insists, now gift Rangers a player to stand alongside the best in the Premiership.
The former Scotland assistant manager was in charge at Motherwell when Murphy took his formative steps into senior football more than a decade ago.
Then a shy, gangly kid, whom McGhee has described as resembling a ‘set of bagpipes’, he immediately made an impression.
So much so, in fact, that McGhee continued to track Murphy’s career when the winger ventured south of the border.
A successful spell at Sheffield United earned him a £2m move to Brighton, which just happens to be McGhee’s home town.
While Murphy has made only a handful of appearances for the Seagulls following their promotion to the English Premier League last summer, his former boss at Fir Park is adamant that should not be read as a slight against his quality.
Rather, McGhee sees a player who will deliver genuine quality and value to Ibrox if negotiations can be concluded.
‘If Jamie got his confidence, scored a few goals and made a few goals, he would emerge as one of the best players in the country — no doubt about it,’ the 60-year-old former Aberdeen and Celtic striker told Sportsmail. ‘I think people would see how he has matured and improved up close.
‘At Rangers and Celtic, regardless of what people say about the competition, players need to be at their best every week so that the team can win every week. Jamie is one of those boys whose level is constant. He would definitely be an asset for Rangers.
‘He brings real pace and directness, but Jamie also has a great team ethic. He works very hard going back the way. I’ve seen him do that a lot over his time in England.
‘I know the people at Brighton and they speak very highly of him. The Premier League these days is another level and he hasn’t held down a place this season. But the stakes are so high that Brighton have gone out and they have bought players for a lot of money.
‘In the wide areas, Anthony Knockaert has done brilliantly for them. They also have Solly March, who they like a lot.
‘The players who are ahead of Jamie have been playing well, so he has found it difficult to establish himself in the Premier League.
‘But he could do any team in the English Championship a good job. And he would be a great signing for Rangers, really terrific.
‘Jamie is one of the top Scottish players around just now who you would be able to get.’
For Murphy, joining Rangers would also represent the fulfilment of a childhood ambition.
McGhee insists the teenager that he first encountered at Motherwell largely kept his Ibrox allegiances under wraps, perhaps mindful of his manager’s spot in Celtic’s history.
Not so in England. Stephen McGinn — grandson of former Parkhead chairman Jack McGinn — used to enjoy sharing a laugh with Murphy when both were at Sheffield United. His offer of a green bib at training was always met with the same refusal.
Murphy’s support for the club obviously makes him acutely aware of the demands at Rangers. More significantly, McGhee feels the 28-year-old attacker has also developed a maturity that ensures he would meet them.
‘Jamie has good experience in the sense that he made his way from Motherwell, to Sheffield United, to Brighton,’ said McGhee. ‘Now, in a sense, this season might be a little bit of a setback in terms of his hopes of being part of things in the Premier League.
‘He will have that to deal with. But he would not be going back to Scotland to a club at Motherwell’s level. He would be going back to Rangers, who are emerging again and who are a massive club.
‘All of the good and bad experience Jamie has had in England would hold him in good stead for the challenge.
‘He has always remained a very level-headed, steady guy. He doesn’t get too over-excited or too down.
‘But he is also a changed man from the boy who left Motherwell. He is a grown-up with family and responsibilities. That in itself changes things.’
In truth, Murphy should be in the peak years of his career. Having helped him to progress at the start, McGhee would take some satisfaction in seeing him shine in front of 50,000 at Ibrox.
by MARK WILSON
‘When I first arrived at Motherwell, Jamie was a player that Scott Leitch and Chris McCart would already talk about as really being one with high hopes for the future,’ recalled McGhee, now managing Barnet in England’s League Two. ‘It was his ability to go past people that impressed me as soon as I saw him. That is always an exciting thing. Jamie was very positive every time he got the ball.
‘He was a modest, unassuming boy. That was just part of his personality.
‘He wasn’t an aggressive person, but he became an aggressive player on the pitch in his running and in his willingness to get at people.
‘The main thing about him, though, was that we weren’t entirely sure what position he played. Did he play wide? Or up front? Or as part of a three?
‘It was about establishing a place for him in a set-up. It didn’t really become established that he was going to play wider until after I left Motherwell.
‘But you have really seen what he adds to a team in the past few years when he’s been playing in England. One thing about great teams, be it Manchester City or Barcelona, is that while they can all pass the ball, they can beat you one-on-one as well.
‘Jamie brings that quality. He gets your team out of tight situations and he gets them up the pitch. It brings time for the team to re-organise. As I said, he would be a great addition for Rangers if they could bring him in.’