Murphy said: "We were very down and deflated on the way back from Chelsea which is inevitable really, but you've got to be realistic and say we shouldn't have been in that position on the final day of the season.
"We should have got ourselves in the Champions League long before that. We are a top three team, not a fifth place side, and it is our own fault why we are there. Our bad run caused the problem.
"It is very disappointing to think we won't be in the Champions League next season. In any walk of life you want to reach the top and the Champions League is the top in football as the title suggests. The fact we're not in it means we haven't done our jobs properly.
"It won't sink in that we are not in it until we start watching it on the television next season. Then it will really hit us.
"The UEFA Cup win will always stay in my memory and I would never want to undervalue that but the Champions League is where the top teams are.
"If next year we are back in the Champions League then we can say we have learnt from this experience. We can't afford to get too deflated now. If we are too despondent our confidence will be affected.
"We need to start afresh next season without any thoughts of this one. There will be new signings coming in and, apart from a few players, every one of us will be fighting for our places again."