Former Republic of Ireland international Daryl Murphy has returned home to Waterford FC.
Murphy (37), who played for the club from 2002 to 2005, has this afternoon inked a new deal which runs until the end of the season. Manager John Sheridan described the capture of Murphy as “a massive, massive signing.”
He continued: “Every club in the country would be delighted to have someone of Darly’s calibre at their club. His attitude and professionalism speaks for itself. I’m hoping he can impart some of his knowledge of the game on this dressing room and give the lads a much-needed boost. As I’ve said, we’ve a good bunch here capable of competing at the top end. Some results and decisions haven’t gone our way but we’re working on changing that now.”
Having left the Blues to join Sunderland FC in 15 years ago, Murphy went on to make 110 appearances for the Black Cats.
He also had spells at Ipswich Town, Celtic, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers and won 32 caps for his country.
The move was delayed as Murphy as struggling with a recurring calf injury. Now the home time hero is looking forward to finishing where it all began for him:
Murphy said: “It’s great to be back, It was always in the back of my mind to finish my career here. I’m delighted and looking forward to getting stuck in. I’m not too sure if I’ll feature against Pat’s, I don’t want to get stuck in and rush back when I might not be fully able for it. Training is tough and hopefully all going well, I’ll be able to get stuck in soon.”
Meanwhile Daryl Horgan looks set to leave Hibernian after manager Jack Ross hinted that the Irish international is on the verge of leaving the club.
Horgan was not in the squad for the club’s Scottish Premiership defeat to Aberdeen on Sunday, with Ross explaining that the Irish star is the subject of an approach from ‘a club in England’.
“It’s been in the pipeline for a couple of weeks,” said the Hibs boss.
“There’s been some interest [in Horgan] for a few weeks from a club in England and that has accelerated, so it looks like that may happen.
“We’ll see in the coming days but in anticipation of that, we’ve had to make sure we were prepared for it and bringing Jamie in is our way of doing that.”
Reports in Scottish media claim that Horgan looks set to link up with newly-promoted Wycombe Wanderers in the English Championship.