He has been one of Donegal’s biggest critics.
But there’s no doubting that former Kerry great and RTE pundit Pat Spillane is chairman of the Michael Murphy fan club.
Spillane changed his mind on Jim McGuinness’ brand of football last season after slating them the previous year for their defensive style of play.
Now Spillane has more or less said that few teams have a chance of beating Donegal again this year – or have they?
The Kerryman described Glenswilly man Murphy as “an absolutely superb footballer” but warned that he could be too big for his boots.
He warned that any injury to the big forward could be devastating to Donegal’s All-Ireland chances.
The small statistic of Murphy scoring more than 60% of all Donegal’s scores so far this season is a reminder of his form.
“If anything happens to Michael Murphy over the year then every other county will have a chance,” summed up Spillane.