Centre-half Christophe Berra says striker Daryl Murphy, who completed his £3 million move to Newcastle yesterday, will be missed but says the Irishman will be replaced, just as other departing players have been before.

“It is disappointing to lose Murphy,” Berra said. “He has done very well here and we will miss him. He is a big, strong physical presence who can score goals but that’s football.

“He will be replaced, we have seen it before when we have lost players. All the best to him. It is a good opportunity for him, which will never come along again.

“Newcastle are a big club that pay big wages and it’s the nature of the business. It is just the nature of things if someone comes along and offers you more money, whether you are an electrician, a footballer - whatever.”

Looking back on Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Preston, the Scotland international said: “We played well in the first half and in the second, well, we knew what to expect. They put in plenty of long ball and knock-ons but we dealt with that.

“Bart didn’t really have any saves to make, apart from a couple in the first half. Preston are a good side, they are tough to play against and are well organised.

“It was good to get the three points before the international break and a bit of a breather.”

He added: “We could have got another and it would have been nice to win by two or three but it wasn’t to be.

“We kept a clean sheet which is always good for the back four and the keeper, but everyone worked hard from back to front.

“Even against Norwich we defended well so it was good to do that again and get three points this time.”

Manager Mick McCarthy switched Adam Webster for Tommy Smith in the right central defensive role alongside Berra, the summer signing from Portsmouth having got the nod ahead of the New Zealand international in previous games.

“They are both good players and both can count themselves unlucky not to be in the team when the other is in,” the 31-year-old added. “Tommy came in and had a very good game.”

Grant Ward continued his excellent start to his Town career, netting the winning goal in the 15th minute to go with his debut hat-trick in the 4-2 opening day victory against Barnsley.

“Grant has started very well,” Berra continued. “He has set his standards high with the goals he has scored and now he has to do it on a consistent basis throughout the season.

“He is a great lad, keeps himself to himself but has fitted in well. Grant has had a great start and he has shown he can win us games.”

Berra says the club's staff will be looking to add to the squad before Wednesday’s 11pm deadline.

“We have brought in a couple of good new attack-minded signings, Conor Grant and Grant Ward have done well and I’m sure the gaffer and scouts are working hard to bring in others.

“Other teams around us are bringing in players but we have to stick to what we are good at. We have a solid squad.”

Berra will spend the week with the Scotland squad ahead of their opening World Cup qualifier away against Malta on Sunday.

Photo: TWTD

BrettenhamBlue added 06:56 - Aug 29 "Other clubs are bringing players in but we have to stick with what we are good at". Anyone else think this is a reference to hoofball? Mickszzzztactics over to you!
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jas0999 added 08:21 - Aug 29 Good to see Berra make reference to 'big wages'. That sums up today's modern footballer. There is no loyalty nowadays. However, you simply can't blame players for looking out for number one. Sadly, our wage structure is reported to be low, which means we may struggle to attract a decent replacement. It's over to Marcus Evans.
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hoppy added 08:30 - Aug 29 Jas0999 - you say there's no loyalty in football any more... Murphy can't have been that far off having a testimonial for the amount of time he'd been with us! I don't begrudge him the move, disappointing as it is with the timing and needing to find a replacement with just a few days left. He'll be missed for his workrate as much as his goals, but did he really owe us more loyalty than the length of time he'd been here already?

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blueblood66 added 08:37 - Aug 29 We are playing some nice football at times, anyone banging on about hoofball clearly has their eyes closed.
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Kirbmeister added 08:41 - Aug 29 Hoppy - agree with you. Say we pay him £10k a week and Newcastle offered him £30k a week for two years. He'd have to be a complete lunatic not to go.
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LondonBlue99 added 08:54 - Aug 29 The highest wage we pay a player is £5K which is to Luke Chambers, so whatever Murphy was getting you can hardly blame him on wanting an upgrade.
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PortmanTerrorist added 08:55 - Aug 29 Murphy needs to be thanked for good service and wished the best for. Loyalty not an issue. Am more bothered about ITFC and that we may pass up the opportunity to re-shape the way we play. No big target man and even MM will have to reconsider hoofball. Bring in a like-for-like then backwards we go, as we will undoubtedly have an inferior number 9 as let's be clear, we cannot afford better than Murph......unless we get real lucky with a younger/untested player.

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Mark added 09:01 - Aug 29 I don't begrudge Murphy his move, even if slightly annoyed to read he said the move was a "no brainer" and sad to see him wearing a Wonga shirt in front of Sports Direct adverts. So it's now all about how we reinvest the money. It's never a good idea to make big spending decisions in a rush so I hope we have good targets lined up and will pay the fees necessary to get them. Perhaps some players who have not been mentioned at all in the media, with Best signed as an additional squad player.

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blues1 added 09:07 - Aug 29 Hoppy. Maybe he didnt, other than it was only a few weeks ago when newcastle were 1st linked with him, thAt he said he was going nowhere. His family were happy and settled in the area. Yet as soon as it seems Newcastle were making a firm bid and it looked a possibility that Ipswich would reject it, he puts in a transfer request. Jas0999. Yet again u post that our wage bill is known to be low? Rubbish, our wage bill last season was among the highest in the division. Ok, not compared to Newcastle obviously but higher than many.

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blues1 added 09:10 - Aug 29 Londonblue99. What planaplan at are you on. Our average wage is far in excess of £5000 a week let alone the top earners. Chambers is on way more than that as was Murphy. U can at least double the amount u quoted
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blues1 added 09:10 - Aug 29 What planet.
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Surco72 added 09:34 - Aug 29 Don't think this is a strong squad at all take Ward out and we would have scored 2 goals in 6 games this year we are reliant on him as we we're Fraser last season and the wheels fell off with any dip of form or injury . Get Lambert in for a season to get goals in this league and help Sears
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lightingblue added 10:04 - Aug 29 I wounded if there is tension in the the ranks
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TimmyH added 10:16 - Aug 29 Think Murphy had been here just over 3 full seasons and 2 spells on loan, not sure if that warrants a testimonial - back in the good ol' days it was expected if a player had almost spent a playing career at a club. How times have changed.
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paulcooperisgod added 10:25 - Aug 29 LAMBERT, CROUCH NUGENT OR BENT any one (or two) of these will do or keep what we got and get BRADLEY DACK in
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PimsNumber1 added 10:27 - Aug 29 A chap in the pub last night called Chris came up with a good replacement .. Chris Martin at Derby.I know he is ex Scum but he holds the play up well
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carsey added 10:41 - Aug 29 Personally I think it is a shame it wasn't Berra moving on. I can't believe he didn't give away a penalty on Saturday vs Preston with his constantly grabbing and holding on to the opposition at corners and free kicks - it's only a matter of time. Would rather see Smithy and Webster at the back. On Murphy unless we get very lucky I think we are going to struggle - yes he has been as prolific in front of goal as we would like but the amount of work he gets through and the problem he causes the opposition shouldn't be underestimated. That is what Newcastle are paying for because in this division every team needs a Murphy and right now we don't have one. Look at Preston on Saturday after Beckford went off early they had no target man and couldn't really get at us. We fortunately had Pitman who did OK on the day but that's not his natural game.

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Fatcatevans added 11:19 - Aug 29 Londonblue99 You are deluded if you think 5k pays our top earner.
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Cloddyseedbed added 11:49 - Aug 29 Berra's off at the end of the season too. I agree he is clumbsy and all arms at the back, he won't keep getting away with it. We also need to move on McGoldrick, wages against performances per year just don't stack up. I wish Murphy well, he has always been a true professional and will be missed, but at his age was right for all concerned.
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Dissboyitfc added 13:45 - Aug 29 Rhodes has joined Norwich on loan.
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Dissboyitfc added 14:02 - Aug 29 Hold Back page, still only a rumour!!! Hope its not true.
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grim09 added 14:26 - Aug 29 Complete faith in Mick and the team the bring in a good replacement if ME makes the funds available. I feel the next few days could have a huge bearing on our season.
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miltonsnephew added 16:45 - Aug 29 Would love us to take a look at Matty Taylor of Bristol Rovers, look at that scoring record 😳😳😳
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WindsorBlueArmy added 17:03 - Aug 29 Murph has been a good servant to the club and with probably only a couple of seasons left needs the financial security of final pay day for both himself and his family. If honest I think Didz will be next as doesn't seem to be that content at Town(judging by goal celebration v Barnsley). With regards to replacement there's one name not mentioned so far:Connor Wickham!He rarely gets rave reviews at Palace and they're spending on strikers so he must be dropping down pecking order.Just a thought.

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Seasider added 17:40 - Aug 29 I have mentioned CW in earlier post Windsor. Think Murph deal good for club and player bearing in mind his age;so good luck to the big man who has been a great servant to ITFC. Think a Marquee signing would help to raise the attendance above 15000 odd,and hopefully bring back some of the lost season ticket holders;whereas if he signs the Burnley blokes dont feel lot will change. We shall see!

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