Alex skipper Luke Murphy looks forward to Elland Road return

Former Leeds United midfielder Luke Murphy is hoping that a good performance at Elland Road this evening could kick start Crewe Alexandra’s season.

Murphy, 31, was on the books of Leeds United for five seasons after joining them for £1 million from Crewe Alexandra in 2013. Although his time at Elland Road included a season long loan at Burton Albion, Murphy made 111 appearances for the club in the Championship, scoring seven goals.

He got off to a flier as well, scoring an injury-time winner against Brighton on his debut for the club and going on to play 40 times that season.

The Crewe captain only has warm memories from his time at Elland Road. He left for Bolton Wanderers in 2018.

Murphy told the club’s official website: “Leeds are a massive club and I knew that when I signed, but honestly you don’t realise how big until you are actually in the building and in the city. It was a real eye opener at first.

“There are not many clubs in the Premier League who are as well supported as them. I don’t think you will find a better atmosphere than Elland Road and it is a fantastic place to play football.

“I am just glad that some of our lads will get to experience that. They need to embrace it and use it to express themselves. We need to use it as a real positive and if we can do ourselves justice then it could really kick start our season.

“We are not going there for a day out. We are going there, looking to cause an upset and win.

“It is a fantastic football club and the people are fantastic. They cannot do enough to help you and I really enjoyed my time there. The teams I played in had their ups and downs but I loved it there.

He added: “I have been back once as a player with Bolton and the supporters were really good with me. I really appreciated it and whatever the reaction is like tomorrow I will take it in my stride but I have nothing but great respect for Leeds and the people there.”