2003–04, so in order to regain fitness he joined Division Two side Barnsley on loan, initially for a month, in March 2004. He made his Barnsley debut in a 2–1 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday on 13 March; his mistake allowed striker Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu to score his second goal of the match. Despite the error, Murphy remained in the team for the next match three days later, a 1–1 draw with Oldham Athletic. The loan was extended to the end of the season, and Murphy made ten appearances for Barnsley, the last of which came in a 3–2 victory over Stockport County on 8 May. Hibernian He was released by Middlesbrough and signed for Hibernian in the summer of 2004 after making a trial appearance against Cardiff City in a pre-season friendly. Murphy was a player that manager Tony Mowbray became aware of through contacts at Middlesbrough. Murphy went on to become an important part of a relatively successful Hibernian side, which won the Scottish League Cup in 2007. On 6 October 2007, Murphy scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium to send Hibernian top of the league for the first time in seven years. Birmingham City On 17 January 2008, Murphy signed for Birmingham City for a fee of £1.5 million. He made his first-team debut on 2 February in the Premier League against Derby County, taking over the position from former Middlesbrough teammate Franck Queudrue. He scored his first goal for Birmingham on the final day of the season, but this was not enough to stave off relegation to the Championship. Murphy began the 2008–09 season as first-choice left back, and largely held off competition from Queudrue as the latter was more often needed at centre-back. Towards the end of the season he suffered a broken kneecap which caused him to miss the whole of the 2009–10 Premier League season as Liam Ridgewell, nominally a centre back, established himself as first choice left back. On his return to first-team action, Murphy scored the opening goal as Birmingham beat Rochdale in the second round of the League Cup in August 2010. He was an unused substitute as Birmingham went on to win the competition, defeating favourites Arsenal 2–1 in the final. Murphy made his first appearance of the 2011–12 season in the Europa League play-off round first leg against Portuguese club Nacional, the first