DARYL MURPHY was an experienced 27-year-old Republic of International striker when he arrived at Celtic in a £1.5million switch from Sunderland in July 2010.
Neil Lennon, who had taken over the manager’s position on a permanent basis after an interim period following Tony Mowbray’s sacking the previous March, had high hopes for the frontman.
Alas, the gaffer’s ambitions for his new recruit were not realised.
Murphy failed to come anywhere near Lennon’s expectation levels and claimed a mere three goals – including two penalty-kicks – in 23 appearances.
His first Hoops strike came via the spot and proved to be the only goal of the game against Motherwell at Fir Park on August 29.
SPOT ON…Daryl Murphy celebrates his penalty-kick goal against Kilmarnock with team-mates Daniel Majstorovic and Anthony Stokes about to join in.
The Waterford-born frontman did the trick again with a penalty in a 2-1 success over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park the following month.
Murphy had to wait until May 15 2011 for his next strike which arrived in a 4-0 win over Dundee United. It was to prove to be his only goal at Parkhead and his last for the Hoops.
Just a year after his arrival, he was on his way to Ipswich Town in a season-long loan. He agreed another temporary transfer to the Portman Road club the following summer before eventually signing a permanent contract in July 2013 with Celtic recouping £750,000 of their initial outlay.
The much-travelled forward edged towards the end of his career after joining Bolton on a free transfer from Nottingham Forest in September 2019.
Murphy had a brief stint with Irish outfit Waterford – making nine scoreless appearances – before calling it a day in 2021.
* TOMORROW: Don’t miss the adventures of another former Celt in CQN’s EXCLUSIVE series.
