WHATEVER happens in the remainder of Newcastle United’s Champions League campaign, there is a good chance that the most evocative moment of the Magpies’ return to European football’s top table has already been and gone.

Ahead of last month’s opening group game against AC Milan, the camera panned along the line of Newcastle’s players as the Champions League anthem played in the San Siro.

Most were staring straight ahead, showing steely determination as they contemplated what was to come next. Jacob Murphy, however, could not contain his excitement, with his beaming smile and wide-eyed sense of incredulity perfectly encapsulating what most Newcastle supporters were experiencing at exactly the same time.

Newcastle were back in the Champions League, and Murphy, a player who has spent much of his six-and-a-half years on Tyneside living in the shadows, was a central part of the action. Why not take a second or two to soak it all in?

“I wanted to be steely in the line-up,” said Murphy, who was something of a surprise inclusion in Eddie Howe’s maiden Champions League team selection. “But then once the music came on – and it came on quite soon – that’s when I was caught in the moment.

“I had my worries that it could have been an anti-climactic experience, but it was literally everything I’d dreamed of it being. I couldn’t hide the excitement and I was glad that I embraced it and enjoyed the moment for what it was.

“It was the feeling of knowing that everything that I’ve done recently and in my career has led me to that point, the pinnacle of club football, and I’d achieved that. It was nothing more than being proud, excited, and embracing an achievement I’d worked really hard for.

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“It’s a feeling I would recommend everyone to experience. Honestly, if I could bottle it up and drink it every day I would. In that moment, I just felt high on the essence of life.

“It was amazing. It’s been a long wait, and for people to resonate with my feeling, it means a lot. Being a fan of the club as well, you know how special the moment is. To be a player in it also, it just added to it.”

More than most of his team-mates, Murphy knows there have been bad times leading to the point where Newcastle find themselves now, battling for trophies and European qualification on the pitch and stable and settled off the field of play.

Having joined Newcastle from Norwich City in the summer of 2017, the first half of Murphy’s Magpies career to date coincided with the darkest days of the Mike Ashley era when ambition was non-existent and apathy reigned.

In the last two seasons, it is as if a switch has been flicked under the club’s new Saudi Arabia-backed owners, to the point where it is hard to know where the ceiling of Newcastle’s ambition should be set. Getting back into the Champions League was great, but how much higher might the club climb in the next few years?

“There’s now a belief, a belief that we can achieve,” said Murphy, in an interview with the United matchday programme. “Have we achieved something great yet? No. You could say that getting into Europe was a great achievement, and it was in itself, but we now want to and know that we can challenge in cups, in the league and now in the Champions League.

The Northern Echo: Jacob Murphy celebrates after scoring in last season's win at EvertonJacob Murphy celebrates after scoring in last season's win at Everton (Image: PA)

“I think that belief, that’s what carried us through last season – having 25 players all on the same page, trying to achieve the same goal. That’s powerful within itself. There’s a focus – there’s a focus, knowing that we can achieve, so that’s probably the main thing. If we didn’t have anything that was realistically achievable, it might be different here. But there is that sense of belief that we can really achieve.”

Murphy has been back on the bench for the two league matches since the draw in the San Siro, but he started last week’s Carabao Cup win over Manchester City and has a decent chance of starting Wednesday’s eagerly-awaited Champions League home game with Paris St Germain, with Newcastle’s injury issues in the attacking third continuing to mount.

With Harvey Barnes set to be sidelined for around three months, Joe Willock another long-term absentee, Joelinton nursing a serious hamstring injury, Callum Wilson also troubled by hamstring issues and Anthony Gordon suspended for Sunday’s Premier League game at West Ham, Murphy could be a crucial figure in the next few days.

That hasn’t always been the case during his time on Tyneside, but like a number of his team-mates, he has flourished under Howe, with his current manager clearly valuing what he can offer.

“The manager knows what he gets from me – a detailed understanding of how he wants us to play,” said Murphy. “For me, it’s all about being reliable and being someone he can count on in any situation. Whether we’re winning a game and need to see it out, whether we’re chasing a game and need to get a goal. It’s being reliable. I hope that’s the manager’s dream!

“That’s probably one of the best things in football, having the trust of your manager and team-mates. No matter what the outside world noise is, as long as you have that trust from the core group within, nothing can harm you.

“To not be featuring in the early part of the season, yeah, I was a bit gutted. But I knew at some point the manager would rely on me, would call upon me, and it’s always about being ready. There’s no point sulking. I know my value within the team. I knew to keep working hard and my moment would come. It came in an exciting way in starting the first Champions League game for two decades for my team.”