MATT Murphy, Oxford United's leading scorer last season, is still waiting on a new contract offer from the club.

But the 29-year-old midfielder believes he is now off the transfer list after becoming one of the mainstays of the team since David Kemp took charge.

"I've been told there's hopefully a new contract for me, so it's up to the club to see if they can come up with the right offer," said Murphy, who will be making his 21st consecutive starting appearance when Division 2 leaders Millwall visit the Manor Ground today.

"I really don't know whether I'm still on the transfer list, but I don't think so," he added.

Kemp has toyed with a variety of central midfield partners for the industrious Murphy, including on-loan Keith Andrews, Peter Fear, Dean Whitehead and Robert Quinn and at the start of this season he played alongside Paul Tait.

But although he has yet to win over large sections of the fans, the ex-Corby Town man, who hit 18 goals last season, appears to be one of the first names Kemp puts down on his team list.

And he says the club's likely relegation to Division 3 doesn't necessarily mean he would up and leave.

"That's not the case," Murphy insisted. "Hopefully, we can build for the future. We've got a few good younger players coming through and with the new stadium coming on well, the future can be bright."

With just 15 points from 30 games, United's supporters are all but resigned to the team's relegation, but the 1-1 draw on Tuesday night with a Stoke team who are on a long unbeaten run, offered some welcome relief from the succession of defeats. Kemp is expected to name an unchanged team, with skipper Darren Patterson recovered from the stitches he needed after his clash of heads with John Robertson.

Meanwhile, Patterson has revealed how surprised he was to be given the Oxford United captaincy as soon as he arrived on his free transfer from York.

It is a huge honour and I was absolutely delighted, if a little taken aback, to be given the job as soon as I got here, he said. Oxford United is a good club with a great tradition and I am determined to keep us up this season.

The crowd gave me a great reception at the Stoke City game. With the position we are currently in I had expected something very different but the crowd got right behind us and that means such a lot of me and all the players. It is important not to become disillusioned and I think the supporters can see all the effort we are putting into our work.

Until relegation is a mathematical certainty I won't even think about it. There is still a chance for us to stay up and with confidence we will do it.

I worked with David Kemp at Crystal Palace when he was assistant manager and I got on very well with him. He is a winner and drives us on and wants the best. He sets very high standards for everyone and I love working with him. WAITING: Murphy