Maybe it was because he'd seen his cousin keep goal for Kildare minors when they won a Leinster championship in 1987. Or as Enda Murphy put it himself, "Maybe he just wasn't good enough to hold down an outfield place". Whatever the reason, for as long as he can remember he found himself closest to the net. First with his primary school, then with the local club, St Mary's, Leixlip.

By the late 90s it was with Kildare but it wasn't what he'd expected of inter-county football all through the years. He managed to play a league game in 1999 but in front of him was Christy Byrne, all the while pulling off incredible saves and in doing so helping Kildare a Leinster title in 2000.

"It was a frustrating time, there's no point in saying otherwise. When you're not playing, especially as a goalkeeper, it leaves you wondering about it all. It's not like you get an appearance like outfield players. But all through that stage Christy [Byrne] was one of the best in the business, not just in Kildare but in the country. He went for a long time as one of the best in the country so I couldn't have any issue with the fact that he was playing, but it was still frustrating. I was always hopeful I'd get a chance eventually but you have to ask yourself is that break ever going to come your way and there were times when I thought it wouldn't and I was destined to be a sub-goalkeeper for Kildare.

"Then Christy got injured.

You don't like to see that happening but it does open doors for people. It opened one for me in 2002 and I did take that chance well, especially given pressure, given how long I waited but as a keeper there's that pressure all along. You won't get away with too many mistakes under the crossbar because there is someone else waiting to take your place. There's a door you here a knocking on behind you. You are always under pressure to perform."

Within a year Murphy was playing in a Leinster final.

Sure, Kildare lost out to Laois that day but for him, all those minutes watching from the sidelines looked set to pay off. Then came an Irish call for the 2003 series in Australia. Yet as Murphy's surprisingly small six-foot frame grew between the sticks, it coincided with Kildare's demise. There was a disastrous defeat to Wexford in the Leinster quarter-final of 2004 . . . many say it was the worst Kildare performance of a generation filled with disappointment . . . followed by a qualifier defeat to today's opponents, Offaly.

Last year it got worse. Much worse. There was the humiliation of a 0-21 to 0-9 defeat to neighbours Laois. Then there was the one-point loss in Sligo. Padraig Nolan resigned. It was felt at the time others should go too.

"We have hit a slump, there's no point denying it, but there is a reason. We aren't crying about it or anything like that but we have been very unfortunate with injuries in different places.

Padraig put in a big effort and got us to a Leinster final in 2003. The following year we had a depleted team against Wexford and incredibly frustratingly so, we kicked that game away. That was a disastrous performance. We didn't show up against Offaly in the qualifier during the opening period and when we got our act together in the second half we nearly managed to pull it off.

"Last year we had an outstanding league campaign and were unlucky not to qualify for the league semi-finals and it just all went pearshaped against Laois. It's hard to put your finger on what the reasons were for that but I can guarantee you that it will not happen again.

I guess the back door seems to have been a problem.

Since 2001 we haven't made any inroads. We went down to Sligo last year and we thought we were in the right frame of mind. And it looked like we were right up to the closing stages and we conceded a few scores and it was enough to put us out."

It's that disastrous record through the outback that has Murphy determined to steer clear of it today. As captain this year he's guided them through a strange league campaign that saw wins in Armagh and Meath coupled with defeats against Derry, Down and Galway.

And of Offaly?

"Look, it wasn't a great game against Westmeath, they'll be the first to admit that. Offaly I'm sure were happy to get to the finish line though. That's what opening games are about sometimes. They are still in there and that's what's important.

And it will bring them on and they will be confident they can reduce some of the mistakes. But they will take a lot of positives from that as well. The performances of [Niall] McNamee and [Thomas] Deehan for example.

"But in all my years here I've never seen such competition and such intensity.

Training will have simulated what we are expecting on Sunday [today]."

He is confident but focused. Then again, we've heard that from so many Kildare players before they fell in the face of expectation.

But with Murphy turning 33 in July he's well aware his years are short at this level and any more under-achievement will leave those words hanging around his intercounty legacy.