The former plumber whose steady flow of goals could see him spring to player prize and international honours

Simon Murray has enjoyed a life less ordinary in football.

In an age in which sanitised academies have largely rendered the scout at the side of the park redundant, the Dundee forward’s path to the top has been circuitous and colourful.

His talent ripped up Tayside’s junior leagues where he was a prolific goalscorer with Downfield, Tayport and Dundee Violet.

He was briefly under the wings of Dundee United and Dundee as a teenager, yet his exploits on their doorsteps oddly didn’t merit a second look.

A time-served tradesman, he got his hands dirty to make ends meet. Then came the itchy feet.

‘I was a plumber in Dundee, fully qualified, but I was just labouring in Australia, for a Scottish roofer called Jock, funnily enough,’ he explained of a move he made when he was 21. ‘I was banging in 40 goals a season and I wasn’t getting an opportunity. So, I thought I’d go travelling a bit.

Murray has been the one bright spark in an otherwise forgettable campaign for the Dark Blues

Murray’s prolific form has even seen his name being mentioned in regard to a Scotland call-up

‘Not that I’d given up on the opportunity and making a career out of football, but I just wanted to try a few things first. It’s funny how it works. I never played football for a full year.’

Had it not been for the intervention of John McGlashan, Murray’s break from the sport might never have ended.

His manager at Tayport, McGlashan needed no convincing that the striker’s talent was worthy of a bigger stage.

‘John phoned me and said that I needed to get back, that I was missing the opportunity to get back into the professional leagues,’ Murray recalled of a man who sadly passed away in 2018 aged just 50, adding: ‘John said he’d get me that opportunity. He was manager of Dundee Violet at the time. 

‘We had eight games left and were bottom of the league. I went and scored 15 goals towards the end of the season. We stayed up.

‘He got me trials at Arbroath. I just went to one training session in Perth. Paul Sheerin was the manager. 

‘I met him in McDonald’s the next day. He offered me £30 a week and I told him immediately I’d sign.’

Murray did well enough at Gayfield for Dundee United to belatedly show interest. Just not well enough to merit a regular first-team place when he signed.

A young Murray won his move to Dundee United off the back of a successful spell at Arbroath

Murray scored 14 goals in 28 games for Hibs but remained largely underappreciated in Leith

The same sense of underappreciation followed him to Hibs. He was loaned to Dundee before moving to Bidvest Wits in South Africa to little fanfare.

When he looked to return to Scotland in 2020, Queen’s Park, then in League Two, was his only option.

‘It’s definitely something I’ve always got,’ he said. ‘But it’s not about rejection. I don’t need to prove anybody wrong. I just need to prove myself right.

‘Even now, I get a sense of: “He’s not good enough”. But that’s good enough for me. It just gives you that extra motivation to do your talking on the pitch.’

Even after firing the Spiders to back-to-back promotions, the doubters remained. Ross County, who Murray joined at the age of 31, were the first top-fight club to truly trust him.

He repaid this by keeping them in the Premiership via a play-off win against Partick Thistle, then repeated the trick a year ago against Raith with his final goals tally standing at 23.

Murray was a goalscoring hero for Ross County when they survived the play-off final in 2023

Murray says having the trust of manager Tony Docherty has been a huge factor in his success

He’s now just one short of that total in the colours of his boyhood heroes. With Dundee only two points above the Staggies, Dark Blues fans must hope their talisman has a few yet to come.

‘The worst thing you can do is get relegated,’ he said. ‘But hopefully we don’t need to worry about that.’

He felt an affinity with Tony Docherty from the moment they first talked last summer. The manager has given him a sense of worth that he’s not always enjoyed.

‘When you have somebody that gives you that sort of trust, it’s massive,’ said Murray. ‘I met him in the summer and we spoke quite a lot. He wanted me to come back to my home city and be the main man.

‘I’ve always thought that if I was given an opportunity by somebody then I wanted to reward them by how I go about my business. Thankfully, I’ve managed to play well for him.

‘He’s played a big part for me. When Joe (Shaughnessy) wasn’t there, I was made captain as well. He trusts me, so it’s a good feeling to have from your manager.’

It’s been a rollercoaster of a Premiership season for Dundee supporters. Their side can’t stop scoring goals (fourth highest with 51) but can’t stop conceding them (the most lost with 71).

Provided it all comes out in the wash, though, Murray will have given them many moments to savour.

‘Probably the derby ones,’ he said when asked for his favourite goals. ‘Obviously, beating Dundee United away from home for the first time in 20 years.

Celtic skipper Callum McGregor has talked up Murray’s international credentials

‘Then we beat them in the Scottish Cup and I scored the winner… they’re always the good ones, especially when you score the only goal in the game.’

Regardless of what transpires, the last of those doubters have presumably gone into hiding. Murray turned 33 in March and has just made the shortlist for PFA Scotland’s Player of the Year award.

Callum McGregor, another nominee, is the latest to make his case for international recognition. At long last, it seems the journeyman has arrived.

‘All I would say — it’s amazing for people to come out and talk about me like that,’ said Murray. ‘There are players in the league who have done it before; Stephen O’Donnell, Andrew Considine. They were older but managed to get recognition.

‘I’m just concentrating on myself, playing football and just enjoying it. I’m (the joint) top goalscorer in Scotland. That’s a great achievement as well.

‘I love playing football, love playing on a matchday. It’s the best day of the week, turning up on a Saturday and you’re ready to go toe to toe. That’s what I love about it. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.

‘Hopefully, I’ll keep fit and injury-free. Since my injury, I’ve done a lot in the gym and look after myself.

‘If I could get to 40, I’ll take it from there and see what happens.’