His future may still be uncertain but Daryl Murphy admits he has never enjoyed his football more. It’s all down to the fact that new manager Mick McCarthy has given him an extended run in the side and in his favourite role.

The 29-year-old on-loan Celtic star was first brought over to England by McCarthy, who was Sunderland manager when he signed him from Waterford.

Murphy, who was primarily utilised on the left of midfield under previous boss Paul Jewell, said: “I’ve always said I wanted to play as a striker ever since I came here and thankfully the manager has given me a chance.

“I had a chat with Mick when he came here and he said ‘You prefer playing as a striker, don’t you?’ I said I did and he said he didn’t see me as a left midfielder. Straight away it was a relief to me.

“I’ve scored a few goals in the past few weeks but the main thing I’m happy about is that we’re winning and getting good results.

“From an Ipswich point of view I’m in the form of my life. It’s a confidence thing really. When we were down where we were it was hard to pick ourselves up. You have far more belief in yourself when you are winning, plus more belief in the team, and everything kind of goes right for you.

“We have to work hard as well, on top of the quality that we have, and we’re doing quite well at the minute. I’ve always had confidence that I could score goals if played as a striker and we do create quite a few chances. You have to take your chances when they come along and happily I’ve been doing that.

“The gaffer and I have not spoken yet about whether I might be here beyond the end of the season. I’m on loan from Celtic until then and my Celtic contract expires in June. After that we’ll see what happens.”

Photo: Action Images

RYITFC added 08:43 - Jan 1 It's the lads 3rd loan spell at the club, he's been terrific since he's been playing through the middle. He's the type of striker that every club needs, would be nice if we could make this one permanent in the summer. I'm not sure why we didn't get the deal done last summer with Celtic reported to be willing to let him go for a nominal fee.
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village_blue added 10:30 - Jan 1 Totally agree ITFC need to get hold of Daryl and keep playing him through the middle as a striker.
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dommyboyblue added 11:31 - Jan 1 I think its all to do with his wage at celtic. Because we are gearing for ffp we could not match what celtic were paying him so taking him on loan and only paying a percentage was good financial sense. Especially if we can get him to sign pre contract agreement in jan. But things do not always work out as you.want them.
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