How hard did the club really try to keep Murphy?
I'd say you're not really trying to keep him if you're ignoring his suggestion that it's decided before the end of the season (per earlier article). If you're trying to keep him, you make an offer at that point. It's absolutely crystal clear that he didn't want it dragging out into the summer. Whether he'd have taken a wage cut at that point in time isn't clear one way or the other, accepted, but since it wasn't offered, we'll never know. (Personally though, I think I'd be more minded to take a reduced deal for the sake of security, than take the risk that nothing might come up that I fancied later on when I was out of contract. It seems Murphy was looking for some security, reading that earlier article, if he was just after more money I'd imagine he'd simply sit quiet and let his contract run down).
This article, I think, explains quite clearly how Murphy feels about that:
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sp.../joe-murphy-waiting-discover-coventry-7071343
You seem to hold the opinion that the club did it's best to keep him, I'm suggesting (also an opinion) that isn't backed up by what's said here and in the previous article. If you want to believe that the club did it's best to keep him, then that's up to you.