Incredibly, Queens have not won any of their 11 away League One matches this season. And that’ll have to change in the near future if they want to challenge for the title.
And the hope is the Doonhamers can buck that trend against league leaders Stenny at Ochilview this Saturday.
Queens have been the better side in their last two matches against the Warriors but Murphy feels Gary Naysmith’s men will be confident going into the contest.
Murphy – who was named manager of the month for January alongside player of the month Adam Brooks – said: “It’s another big game for us. Stenny sit top of the league just like the last time we played them, and we won. Now we have to do the same away from home.
“We know our away form hasn’t been good enough as we’ve not had an away win in the league.
“We’ve got to try and make it not a big issue but it is a big issue. If our away form was a bit better then we’d be four or five points better off and we’d be higher up the table.
“We’ve played them twice this season and they were delighted to get a draw the last time we played them at their place. We dominated both games but we can’t assume it’ll be like that on Saturday.
“They lost Matty Aitken last time we played at Palmerston and he’ll be out for a long period and they’ve brought in Corey O’Donnell who scored an excellent goal at the weekend.
“He’s looking a bit of a handful, he’s one to watch.”
And there’s concerns that Dickenson – who has been tremendous for Queens in the forward role for the last month — might not feature.
DOUBT . . . Brennan Dickenson
However, Murphy didn’t rule him out of Saturday’s battle.
He said: “Brennan hasn’t trained this week. We’ve not ruled him out but we have to watch him. Again it’s the case of three games in a week and a long journey to Inverness on a grass pitch.”
Meanwhile, Jack Hannah has trained but with a grimace on his face after picking up an ankle knock last weekend, whilst Benji Luissint could be back on Saturday.
However, Jack Brydon is suspended after his red card in another away loss to Inverness.
But on a lighter note, winger Kai Kennedy — who has been out since November — has been joining in warm ups and passing in training.
Murphy added: “He’ll be a couple of weeks away from full training but heading in the right direction.”
On the transfer front, Queens have signed goalkeeper Murray Johnson on loan from Hibs until the end of the season, while forward Leighton McIntosh has departed Palmy.
