Josh Murphy addresses his Portsmouth future after dazzling Fratton Park season

The popular winger has enjoyed a dazzling maiden Blues campaign, establishing him as an instrumental figure on their Championship survival with seven goals and 14 assists.

His outstanding form has been recognised by supporters, with the 30-year-old receiving 10 Player of the Season awards, including The News/Sports Mail honour.

Inevitably there are concerns Murphy’s eye-catching displays could attract interest from other clubs during the summer, albeit he is contracted until the summer of 2027.

After some lean times in football, however, Murphy is flourishing after settling on the south coast - and he is adamant that stability is bringing the best out of him.

He told The News: ‘I am happy here, I am settled here, there’s a lot going on and the club is building to push for the Premier League - and that aligns with what I want to do.

‘I am happy here and I want to keep playing at Fratton Park because this place is pretty special. It has been great all season, who wouldn’t want to be playing here?

‘Being settled here brings the best out of me. I am settled here, the family love it down here, I have a manager who believes in me and backs me and the club is going in the right direction.

‘With my performances, this is the base I want to work off going into next season and I believe I can still get better, I believe I can get more goals and assists, so hopefully this is just the bench mark for the future.’

Murphy pinpoints his favourite Pompey game

Reflecting on a season in which the Blues avoided relegation with two matches to spare, Murphy has his favourite games.

Rather surprisingly, though, it wasn’t the 1-0 victory over Leeds in March, which shocked the Championship and, no doubt, the home audience for the televised fixture.

Instead he prefers Fratton Park victories over QPR (February) and Blackburn (March), which saw him score in both. Indeed, his QPR effort was named as the Blues’ Goal of the Season.

And Murphy admits those ‘scrappy wins’ were far more enjoyable.

He added: ‘Everyone says the Leeds game, but that’s not one of my favourites.

‘I’ve enjoyed all the scrappy wins. The QPR and Blackburn games, they were horrible matches but they meant so much getting the three points. I probably enjoyed those wins more than Leeds, even though the football’s rubbish.

‘I have enjoyed every single game, apart from a couple of the drubbings, which were hard to take.’

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