"SUCCESSFUL goalkeeping means to be at the correct time in the correct position," once said Alex Welsh, one of English football's most respected goalkeeping coaches.

If the one-time Arsenal academy trainer is to be believed, it's no wonder Joe Murphy has been such a success in his five years at Scunthorpe United.

Not only has the Irishman managed that mandate on the pitch, he's also proved a dab hand off it too.

When it comes to his playing career, Murphy reluctantly acknowledges his stock is high.

The fact that is the case when he becomes a free agent could not have provided a better scenario.

It is the reason why the 29-year-old will remain in the Championship, while the club he has served loyally for more than 200 matches fights to get back there.

Moving on is a big decision for Murphy.

Yet while talk of the future sees him still slip into referring to the Iron as 'we', he is adamant it is the right one.

Chatting with Murphy has always been a pleasure, as a bunch of new reporters will find out next term.

Respectful yet witty, it's easy for members of the media to almost instantaneously feel part of the Iron dressing room given his love for banter.

So on his own turf so to speak, or, more accurately, sofa, while I'm the reporter, it's no surprise that in one final Iron-related interview, it's Murphy who asks the early questions.

Offers of tea or coffee are gratefully received before he goes for the jugular.

"You're going to want to know who I'm signing for aren't you?" he bellows, with a grin.

"If you find out, tell me," chips in his partner Helen quickly.

The Irishman insists, while he is aware of 'one or two things' as regards to potential moves, he is far from decided about what the future holds.

Not really a surprise given the unknown, interjected with an extraordinary amount of excitement, is quickly becoming a theme in the Murphy household.

Any time now, providing he or she arrives on time, Murphy and Helen will become first-time parents.

It is a life-changing, as well as club-changing, summer for the former Tranmere Rovers trainee.

And personal and professional circumstances have knitted together to provide him with a new outlook on life.

"The next move for me is a big one," says Murphy, who suggests the Iron's recent relegation is the biggest factor behind his decision to leave Glanford Park.

"I'm not a money driven guy and I never will be.

"It doesn't bother me that in five or six years, or at the end of my career, I'm going to have to go out and work because I've gone out and done something I wanted to do as a kid, hopefully, for 20 years.

"People keep saying to me I'm at my peak at the moment, but I've never really agreed with keepers being at their best at a certain age.

"Look at Edwin van der Sar, he's played until he's 40 and he looks like he's at his peak.

"But I'm 29, out of contract and I've got a big decision to make. Ultimately my family situation has changed now and I've got to do the best for them.

"Football is a game and a job, family is the most important thing.

"As I'm out of contract, I'm in a good position."

The reason Murphy is in that good position centres around the fact he is a good player – arguably one of the greatest keepers the Iron have fielded.

 It's clear he has Championship offers on the table, with Coventry City almost certain to be one despite the player's defiance to remain tight-lipped upon mention of the Sky Blues.

When asked if there's a possibility of a move higher than the second tier, the Dubliner answers with a 'maybe'.

"But I have to be realistic about playing football – that's the main thing in my mind," he quickly points out.

Playing football is all Murphy has wanted to do since he was the boy that, like so many other Irish footballers, was spotted making a name for himself at junior team Stella Maris.

He was barely a teenager when he became one of four youngsters from the same team to agree to join Tranmere, but whereas the others 'couldn't handle the homesickness' the ex-Iron keeper blossomed.

Moves to West Brom and Sunderland did not dampen his enthusiasm, even if they starved him of time on the pitch.

But of the decisions Murphy has made during his career, few will better the one to sign at Glanford Park in June 2006.

In his first year at United he was named in the PFA League One Team of the Year and collected the Golden Glove award for keeping an impressive 22 clean sheets as his side stormed to title glory.

It is understandably viewed by Murphy as his finest honour.

"The players were so confident in each other then," he recalls.

"We had a settled back four every week, a settled midfield and two lads up front who just scored goals.

"The confidence was that high, we really thought we could achieve something, even from early on."

Given the team's fluctuating fortunes, Murphy reacts to a question about summing up his time as an Iron player by agreeing with my suggestion of 'up and down'.

Although delighted to have been able to stay for so long with Scunthorpe, the club's failure to allow that same privilege to others is a disappointment. One, ultimately, the shot-stopper says is in danger of holding United back.

It is clear the expectant father has a lot of respect and even more time for chairman Steve Wharton.

"He's kept a small club afloat by pumping in a lot of his own money and he's been great to me," says Murphy.

But there is one nagging negative he says is stifling their chances of further success. Something which has made the past 12 months 'a missed opportunity'.

"Scunthorpe are a selling club, I understand that," he says.

"But for me, the most annoying thing of my five years was often losing the players we could have kept hold of.

"Players like Pato (Martin Paterson) and Hoops (Gary Hooper) went, but you can't do anything about that. People came calling with millions. That's fine.

"But the players you thought we could keep, we just didn't. That's what is hard to take.

"This past year has summed that up. It's been a missed opportunity, or I think so anyway.

"I'm not saying the players we brought in haven't been good enough, but the players we lost, the ones we didn't necessarily have to lose, was massive.

"Marcus Williams has come back this year and proved what a good player he is. He was out of contract, Grant McCann was out of contract and Hayesy (Paul Hayes) was out of contract.

"If they had been offered something, they might still be here and we might have kicked on.

"Losing your big, big players when you don't have too leaves a bit of a bitter taste in your mouth."

Contract capers aside, Murphy is delighted to have progressed as a player at the same time United have moved forward on the pitch.

"When I came here, I think Scunthorpe were happy just to survive in League One. Now people realise, through the last five years, that it's a Championship club," he says on the subject.

"It might not have the size, the amount of fans or the wage bill of other clubs, but there's definitely something there.

"You don't spend three out of five years at that level without that being the case."

He is confident that will again be the case down the line, though shares the opinion of many that manager Alan Knill needs time to rebuild.

"I said after the Millwall game (when United's relegation was all but confirmed) he was the man to take the club forward and I stand by that.

"Crystal Palace this season was one of the best games I've played in at Scunthorpe.

"Winning just gave us that little bit of hope. I felt there was something in the changing room that was changing, even if it was too little, too late.

"He (Knill) has got a way about him that cries out success. Hopefully that'll be the situation."

Although his mind was not made up about leaving United as he walked around the pitch for the final time at the end of the 1-1 draw with Portsmouth on the final day of the campaign, Murphy admits if ever he had any doubts about his exit, that was the moment.

Away from the emotion of that occasion though, he remains 100 per cent sure he will make the right decision about the future – even if he will never forget the past.

"Fans have said it's been the best five years Scunthorpe have ever had. I don't know if it is or not, but it's been great to be a part of it either way," adds the Irishman.

"I believe I was a big part of that and Scunthorpe will always have a big place in my heart because of the fact they rekindled my career."

The feeling will most definitely be mutual.

 

Follow Chris Sumpter on Twitter at http://twitter.com/chrissumpter80

This article was first publushed in the Scunthorpe Telegraph on May 30.