LEE CLARK and Paul Bracewell have done it, and so, less obviously, has Danny Simpson. Now, almost a decade after winning the Championship title with Sunderland, Daryl Murphy wants to join a select band of players who have won league honours on both sides of the Tyne-Wear divide.

Murphy was still at the start of his career as he scored ten league goals to help a Roy Keane-led Sunderland claim the Championship crown in the 2006-07 season, with his most memorable two strikes coming on the final day of the season as a 5-0 win at Luton Town confirmed the Black Cats as champions.

A lot has happened to the 33-year-old since, whether it be two permanent spells at Ipswich, a stint north of the border with Celtic or the winning of 23 senior caps with the Republic of Ireland, but the trophy cabinet has remained bare.

So while a return to the Premier League is the overriding ambition for Newcastle’s players in the remaining three-and-a-half months of the season, clinching the Championship title is also uppermost in Murphy’s thoughts.

Brighton will regain top spot if they beat Cardiff City in their game in hand tomorrow night, but the Magpies remain extremely well positioned in the wake of their weekend win over Rotherham United. With 21 games to go, a repeat of 2010’s title success is still very much on the cards.

“I came here because I wanted to win things,” said Murphy. “That’s why I wanted to come to Newcastle. As I said when I signed, it was an easy decision because I want to be pushing to win stuff and play in front of 52,000 people.

“I just want to test myself really before I finish. I don’t think there’s a better club to have joined to do that. Our main ambition is to get promoted, but we also want to win the title.”

Having scored in successive away games at Birmingham and Brentford, Murphy broke his St James’ Park duck in style at the weekend as he swivelled in the area on the stroke of half-time before curling a deft 14-yard finish into the left-hand corner of the net.

The goal broke some stubborn Rotherham resistance, and paved the way for a second-half onslaught that saw Newcastle add three further successes to their tally, with Murphy proving a more than capable deputy in the absence of injured attacking duo Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

“I scored two goals the previous week, but I said to my wife and kids there would be nothing better than to score at home in front of 52,000 fans, and that was definitely the case,” said the Irishman, who signed a two-year deal when he made a £3m switch from Ipswich last summer. “It was absolutely brilliant.

“If someone had said to me a year ago that I would do that, I would have laughed at them - I would have thought they’d gone mad! But here we are, and thankfully the gaffer took a chance on me.”

Murphy’s opener settled Newcastle after a frustrating first half that saw Rotherham’s attempts at containment prove reasonably effective.

The Magpies dominated possession throughout the opening period, but as has been the case in a number of their home games this season, they initially struggled to break down an opposition side willing to pull nine outfield players to the edge of their own penalty area.

Rotherham’s defensive approach was hardly a surprise, and despite their position at the foot of the table, the Millers’ enthusiasm and work rate, particularly in the first half, was commendable.

QPR will be the next team to visit Gallowgate on February 1, and having been on the wrong end of a six-goal hiding in the reverse fixture at Loftus Road, Murphy expects Ian Holloway’s players to also raise their game when they make the trip to St James’ Park.

“It’s a different kind of challenge that we’re having to face,” he said. “Everyone wants to be beat us. We’re top of the league and that’s just the way it is.

“In any league, teams get fired up more for games in stadiums like this, playing against the team top of the league. It gives them more motivation and it’s hard for us, but we know if we play the way we can, we can beat any team on the day.”