In 2004 he left to join Mick Wadsworth, former manager of Oldham and Carlisle, who was then the manager of Portuguese outfit Beira Mar. A serious knee injury meant that he had to leave Portugal and that's when he returned to England. Murray said of his conversation with Iain Dowie at Crystal Palace, "I spoke to Iain at length and he wanted me to go down there but without my registration I wouldn't have been able to play for their reserves and show them what I could do. I've seen the potential here. If I didn't think this club was going forward, I might not have signed. But I'm totally convinced we're going to be successful. I've come here to get promotion. Carlisle will be one of the best clubs in League One and I'd rather be here than anywhere else in that division. And then we've got to kick on. The long-term aim must be to get into The Championship. We can't look back now. Other people will see the club has signed Michael Bridges, Mark Rivers and now Paul Murray, and they'll sit up and take notice. Carlisle United is on the map again and we're coming back in a big way."