Daryl Murphy has spoken of his anguish at hearing that the news that Márton Fülöp, a team-mate at both Ipswich and Sunderland, had passed away recently.
Hungarian international Fülöp was only 32 when he lost his battle with cancer just over a week ago and Murphy revealed it was ex-Town and Black Cats boss Roy Keane who broke the news to him during the Republic of Ireland’s trip to Bosnia for the first leg of their Euro 2016 play-off.
Murphy said: "We were actually on the team bus in Bosnia when I heard. Roy’s come back down the bus and said to me ‘Did you hear about Márton Fülöp? One of the lads has just told me about him’.
"It was absolutely devastating to hear what had happened and I obviously pass on my condolences to his family.
"He was a lovely fella and I got on really well with him. We got promoted with Sunderland and, as I said, I was really devastated when I heard.
"I didn’t even know he was so seriously ill until I read about him passing away and I found out a bit more.
"I am gutted for him. I will remember Márton as a fun-loving chap. He was a big character in the dressing room — you could always hear him — and a good goalkeeper and team-mate, and a nice fella all round.
"That sort of news always hits home and it was a quiet bus after everyone heard. It came as a real shock to us all.”
Meanwhile, Murphy has expressed the view that Keane’s role as assistant to Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill is proving far less stressful than when he was in charge at club level with Town and, previously, Sunderland.
Murphy said: "I think at the start many people questioned the appointment and wondered if he and Martin O’Neill would work together. But they’ve been brilliant.
"Roy bounces off the players and he’s very good around the lads. He’s got a very good sense of humour when he’s taking training sessions.
"I just think it has worked out really well. I think he can probably relax a bit more in this job. But I’ve always got on with him anyway so it’s no surprise to me that it has worked out so well for him.
"The atmosphere around the Irish squad is similar to how it is at Ipswich. All the lads in the squad are so close and I’m lucky to be a part of that here as well.
"It’s so close-knit with everybody working for the same thing and wanting to do well for each other. I think you need that at any level in the game.”