MAX MURPHY earned praise from Bohemians boss Keith Long after the youngster came off the bench and made a positive impression in Friday’s 2-1 win over Sligo Rovers.

There were just 31 minutes on the clock when the 20-year-old was introduced in place of Brighton loanee Sam Packham, who had been substituted owing to a calf issue.

The young full-back acquitted himself well thereafter, almost setting up Dawson Devoy to score from crosses on two occasions.

Murphy was then himself replaced late on after picking up a knock, but Long said afterwards that the move was purely precautionary and that he should be okay for tonight’s fixture away to St Patrick’s Athletic.

Long added that Murphy, who he has watched and been aware of since his days as a youngster at St Joseph’s Boys, had been unlucky not to start the game.

“I’ve faith in Max and I think he will learn,” Long said. “He’ll make mistakes too because he’s young but as long as he learns from those mistakes.

“He’s been quite good [since signing], and he’s been very good in certain games. He went through a difficult 10 minutes in the derby a number of weeks ago and has found himself a little bit out of the team.”

An Ireland underage international, Murphy joined Bray Wanderers as a youngster and subsequently spent a few years in England with Stoke City.

After returning home, he initially linked up with Shamrock Rovers at the beginning of 2020 but joined Bohemians last December after he was unable to establish himself in the Hoops’ first team.

A couple of high-profile players have gone in the opposite direction in recent times, notably fellow full-back Andy Lyons.

But Long plays down suggestions that there is any additional pressure on the youngster, having come from their bitter rivals.

“I suppose our supporters haven’t seen Max extensively. They’ve seen him in certain games, but the more games he plays, I suppose it’s stating the obvious, for every player, the better they become you would imagine.

“He’s very comfortable on the ball, he puts good crosses into the box, he’s very offensive. And obviously, the other side of the game is to make sure you defend duels, stop crosses as a full-back, defend balls at the back post and do the basics defensively well.

“And hopefully, he’ll get a little bit of a run in the team and we’ll support him with his level of performance and try to help him to continue to improve because he has ability and potential.

“He’s nowhere near the finished article. The narrative between him joining us and Andy going to Rovers [around the same time] doesn’t really stack up. Andy has got over 100 appearances for us prior to going to Shamrock Rovers and Max is a younger version.

“I would have liked Max with us when he came back from Stoke, but for one reason or another, he didn’t end up with us. So he’s here now and we’re working to hopefully improve him as a player.”

Murphy himself was in an upbeat mood after helping his side to an important three points at the expense of the Bit O’Red.

“I felt like I did well when I came on — I got up and down and defended well, it was just a precaution with my ankle [when I came off].”

Reflecting on the frustration of scoring an own goal amid a 3-1 loss to Shamrock Rovers last month, he added: “I thought I did well up until that, then I was a little bit shaky. But the OG, I just tried to hit it out of play, but whatever way it hit off my foot [caused it to go in]. 

“It’s hard to take but you just have to move on from it — just get it out of my head and go again.”

The defender admits his Bohs career has been frustratingly stop-start so far but is hoping to build on Friday’s encouraging outing.

“I had a couple of games in, [we played] Finn Harps and then I was out, and it was a couple of games, the Rovers game happened, and I had to wait a couple of games for another opportunity. But I felt I did well [tonight], so hopefully, I can kick on. 

“As soon as the opportunity comes along, you’ve got to take it, and if you don’t then you’ll be on the sidelines for another couple of weeks.”

Despite his tender age, Murphy already has plenty of experience in dealing with the harsh realities of football, having failed to make the grade at Stoke.

“I was over there for two and a half to three years. It was a good experience. In my first year, I played a lot of games. After that first year, it kind of went downhill. And in my third year, about six months into it, I said I wanted to come home. I wasn’t playing games, I was just training and stuff.

“It was tough over there. But I enjoyed it, I wasn’t really getting homesick or anything like that, I enjoyed being away. But when you’re not playing, you’re just training, being left out of the squads and stuff, it’s hard to take, especially when you’re over there by yourself. And that’s why I made the decision to come home because it wasn’t going to go further than it was. I just wanted to come home and go again.” 

There has been no shortage of recent examples of youngsters whose careers have been rejuvenated at Bohs following prior setbacks that in many cases have occurred across the water, and Murphy is now aiming to follow suit.

“[Keith Long] does give the opportunity to the [young] lads. It gives me a boost to see Andy Lyons, Dawson [Devoy] and Ross Tierney, that he gives them the opportunity. And if you take it, anything can happen really.”