REDISCOVERING his attacking edge has revitalised Shaun Murphy's career. He tells STEVE CARROLL he is in the prime of his career ahead of the UK Championship.

HOTEL rooms. Scourge of the sporting elite, a life lived out of a suitcase, a different bed every week.

It's an existence that can tax the most stable of personalities.

But for Shaun Murphy, it was where he found snooker redemption.

A young prodigy who had burst into the spotlight when storming to World Championship glory as a 150-1 qualifier back in 2005, the Magician's career was in flux. Without a ranking victory since 2011, he hadn't reached a final either for the best part of two years.

For a player with a cue action once described by Steve Davis as the best he had ever seen, it was time to take stock.

"It was very, very strange what happened to me. I was just sat in a hotel room thinking about things," Murphy explained. "I was on a bad run of form. I thought I would go back to my old original style of going for my shots.

"From that moment, my game turned around. I made a 147. I won two tournaments at the back end of last season and I have won another tournament this season. In the calendar year from last November, I have had three tournament wins and two 147s."

Having collected the Gydnia Open, the World Open and the Bulgarian Open, as well as reaching the final of the General Cup last month, the 32-year-old plans to repeat the Barbican run that saw him storm to the final of the UK Championship in 2012, only to fall to Mark Selby.

Expect some swashbuckling potting.

He said: "Things are going well and it would be lovely to have another good run at York. It is not only what playing attacking snooker does for you, it's what it does to your opponent as well.

"You can't both attack each other. Someone has to back down. If you are going for every shot you see, it puts your opponent on the back foot. I did what Judd Trump is trying to do and tempered my game. It didn't work for me. It look a lot of time for me to realise that.

"Ronnie O'Sullivan is showing that age is no barrier. Snooker players used to get to their late 30s and were over the hill. Now he has showed the rest that you can keep getting better and keep improving.

"I feel I am coming into the prime of my career. I have got the big wins in the bag. There is no pressure on me to try and win. What I can try and do is play the best I can and enjoy these times.

"I have won these events. I would love to complete the treble of BBC events and win the Masters and I would like to be a multiple winner of these same events - and be in the same place as some of the great players.

"There are always goals to be reached and ways to improve. I am practising very hard."

Helping Murphy's recent renaissance is a different attitude to life. Once renowned for his outspoken views, and frank assessment of some of his colleagues on the snooker tour, the five-time ranking event winner has noticeably mellowed.

Age has played a part in the transformation, but Murphy believes he has also been given new perspective following his work with the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Pledging to donate £100 for every century he makes in a competitive match, he has raised more than £7,000 and, in the last couple of weeks, presented a cheque to the charity for £4,100.

"I think it is probably called maturity," Murphy said of his current state of mind. "I am in a different phase of my life. I have been thinking about things and I am not the brash, mouthy overconfident 22-year-old I was ten years ago. I have changed quite a lot.

"I feel like I have learned a lot along the way. What will be will be. My association with the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital has changed my perspective on pretty much everything over the last two or three years.

"I lost a snooker match. It is not the end of the world.

"A young relative of mine has been in there for quite a lot of treatment over the past few years. I was thinking about something nice to do - and doing something for the charity came into my head. They are a charity. They don't get any funding. Where better to start?

"The idea came to me when I was watching the golf and I think Phil Mickelson made a donation every time he made a birdie. That gave me the idea to do it. I am making centuries and it actually puts me under a little bit more pressure. I try really hard every time I get near a hundred.

"And I know the money does go to improving the time with the kids."

The UK Champion in 2008, and so close to winning again at York two years ago, Murphy is confident of another big performance in one of his favourite cities. But it will not be easy.

He has drawn James Wattana in the first round and is wary of the Thai player who was once the world number three before a sharp decline in the past few years.

Murphy explained: "If we are listing the top ten to 20 naturally gifted players, he would be in that list. He can still perform at an extremely high level. I am sure it will be no different. He's very highly regarded in his home country and if I don't play my best I could be in trouble.

"If you look at the results now, there have been a few of the top players tumbling out (in the early stages of events). It's nice if you can ease your way in but anyone can beat anyone. There is strength in depth and everyone is dangerous.

"We are all trying to chase Mark Selby. He's become the world number one, the world champion and a father. It is some year he has had. I came close to winning the UK a couple of years ago but I just ran out of steam towards the end of the week.

"It would be great to win it again."