JOHN Brayford says Jamie Murphy has clearly demonstrated his quality so early on in his loan spell with Burton Albion.
Winger Murphy was a January signing for the Brewers, with the 30-year-old joining until the end of the season from Scottish Premiership side Rangers.
And Murphy, who played with Brayford and under manager Nigel Clough at Sheffield United, has hit the ground running - netting four goals in his first six games for the Brewers along with a string of impressive performances.
Brayford says Albion know the quality Murphy possesses.
“I think you can just see the quality and what he’s got when he’s on the ball,” said Brayford.
“We try and get the ball to Murph as much as we can, and I think we did in situations in the first half at Ipswich on Saturday.
“He’s made one of them count with the quality he’s got, and he’s shown (all of) that in the short spell he’s been here.
“We need to get the ball out to him as much as we can because we know he can create things.
“He’s a special player, Murph, and he’s doing an awful lot for the team at the moment.
“We’re lucky to have him here for the season.”
Murphy opened the scoring on Saturday but Albion were eventually beaten 4-1 by the hosts at Portman Road.
And Brayford is determined for the Brewers to learn from the experience last weekend and put things right next, when Albion visit Southend United in another lengthy away trip, and the experienced right-back says the Brewers will keep pushing for the top six.
“You’ve got to keep going and have that never-say-die attitude, because it isn’t over until it’s over,” said Brayford.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be a bit of a push, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.
“We have to regroup now, watch the video on where things went wrong at Ipswich. There were some young players out there and they can learn from that and push on again next week at Southend.
“That’s all we can do.
“These young players are the future of the club, and it’s in situations like this they will learn from.”