Murphy was restored to the side for the midweek draw with Liverpool and says the Magpies have to now maintain the standards they set against the Premier League's leaders and build on their fine display against Brentford tomorrow.
The Liverpool draw followed the disappointment of picking up just one point against West Ham and Crystal Palace, which led to Newcastle slipping into the bottom half of the table.
But Murphy insists the dressing room wasn't panicked or overly concerned.
"Personally I'm pretty calm," said the winger.
"We can't get too high or low, we have to find the happy medium. Two wins in a week and everything looks amazing; two draws or a loss and everything looks terrible. But in reality that's not the case.
"I think we have to stay calm. The table is still so tight. I'm living in that calm zone. That's the message in the dressing room because there can be an overreaction from everywhere but there's no need for that right now.
"We know what we have in the team and we know we can get points against anyone in this division. So if we draw or lose, OK...not great, we want to win every game, but we'll have another go to put things right. There's no need to panic, we'll keep plugging away."
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Wednesday night was a first Premier League start for Murphy since the home defeat to Brighton in mid-October. Right wing has been something of a problem position for Howe, and one area the Magpies are understood to be keen on strengthening as the January transfer window approaches. But Murphy won't get unsettled by any speculation.
He said: "We have two transfer windows every year and we're linked with a million players; none have ever signed for us so to us it's just another window and we take no notice. We all have a job to do."
It's hard to ignore the speculation over the Liverpool future of Mo Salah, who shone at St James' Park on Wednesday night with two second half goals.
Murphy admires the "superhuman" Egyptian, who is one of many players he's studied in an effort to improve his own game.
He said: "He's one of the best wingers in world football and has been for many years. He's one of the all time greats in the Premier League. It's frustrating that he scored but that's the quality he has.
"I study Salah, Son, Mane, everyone. I've studied everyone and tried to take little bits from their game.
"I probably haven't implemented it, but tried," he laughed.
"Salah is just a top player. He was relatively quiet [on Wednesday] but then he scores. That shows his superhuman qualities. Hally [Lewis Hall] kept him relatively quiet and then he pops up and scores. Unbelievable player."
Murphy is likely to keep his place at Brentford, where he'll again be desperate to justify the faith of his head coach Howe.
"He doesn't need to give me a message, he knows what I'm going to do," he said.
"He knows what he's going to get from me. I love him so I do what he needs."
United are only behind Brentford on goal difference, with just four points separating fifth and 12th.
Murphy said: "That shows the quality of the league. You have 10-12 teams going for seven-eight spaces, if you count eight would be Europe. That just shows the competition."