Liam Manning has provided an update on Adam Murphy’s position at Bristol City, admitting the Ireland youth international is training with the Reds’ Under-21s rather than the first team having featured for the Young Robins this week.
Murphy made the move to Ashton Gate from St Patrick’s Athletic in last season’s January transfer window, putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year contract with City, with the option of a further 12 months included.
Injuries limited the teenager’s involvement in his first six months in BS3, but he did make a handful of appearances for the Under-21s and made a good impression in his limited minutes. The 19-year-old also travelled to Portugal with the rest of Manning’s first-team squad this summer for their pre-season training camp.
But Murphy is still yet to even be named in a first-team matchday squad with Manning admitting in January the Irishman had to “keep his head down” after a stop-start campaign in the West Country, while also providing an update on Ayman Benarous.
Having recovered from his most recent setback, the midfielder started for the Under-21s against Colchester United on Monday afternoon at Ashton Gate. The teenager played the first half as the Young Robins ran out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Zac Ali, Tim Ap Sion and Olly Thomas.
Although Manning confirmed the 19-year-old was not currently training with the rest of the first-team squad, he reinforced the idea that Murphy needs to build up his confidence and durability after such a slow start to his City career.
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“Very much that. He’s training with the 21s to be fair to build up his loading,” the Reds head coach told Bristol Live in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “He obviously missed, in the last year or so, a large amount of football.
“So again, I think for him it’s just a case of continually building up training and getting confidence back in his body.”
With just 13 games left of the regular Championship season, it seems unlikely that City supporters will see Murphy in first-team action this term. The midfielder is still only young and with another two-and-a-half years at least on his contract at Ashton Gate there is every chance he could force his way into the first-team fold still.
But first, he will have to shake off the injury issues that have plagued him during his time in the West Country so far.