Paul Murphy attributes his meteoric rise to Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice.

Rejected by the Kerry minor selectors for being 'too small', the Rathmore rookie was given his big break by Fitzmaurice with the U21s two years ago and last night he was named as The Sunday Game's Man of the Match following a terrific display in the All-Ireland final.

"I was small enough as a young lad and I'm still not a huge man. But I was small enough and probably physically weak for the minors," he told RTE's Marty Morrissey from the Kerry team hotel in Dublin this morning.

"But I kept playing with the club - it is where you start and where you finish. Eamonn took a punt on me at U21 level in 2012 and then again at the start of this year. I've a huge debt of gratitude to Eamonn for giving me my chance."

Murphy, who is looking forward to bringing the Sam Maguire back to Rathmore this evening, admitted that 2014 has been a dream season for him.

"It hasn't sunk in at all. It will probably be later in the week. It's almost a state of shock still," he added.

"It's been an unbelievable year for my first year on the panel. I'm not naive enough to think you're going to win All-Irelands and win man of the match every year but it's a fantastic experience.

"The euphoria yesterday, that five minutes after the game with the players and the management, that is the feeling you want to replicate. We'll try to get it again in years to come."

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