THE manager who gave Andre Gray a chance to resurrect his career after his first chance in the Football League had come to an end believes hard work has been a crucial part of the Burnley striker's success.

The 24-year-old was named Championship player of the year on Sunday night, another staging post in a remarkable rise from the Conference North when he was playing for Hinckley United in 2010, having been released by League Two side Shrewsbury Town.

At that point Gray's dream of a professional career looked to be on the rocks, indeed he signed his next contract with Hinckley and their boss Dean Thomas in a pub in Tamworth.

It was a far cry from the position Gray is in now, Burnley's record signing and the Championship's top goalscorer, just four wins away from the Premier League.

"He was very raw, had been knocked around a little bit at Shrewsbury, had been farmed out at Telford and didn't quite know which direction he was going in," said ex-Wimbledon and Notts County midfielder Thomas.

"He just needed some stability, the confidence to go and play every week and a manager to believe in him. We did that at Hinckley. He wanted to listen, to learn. He didn't want to work, he wanted to be a footballer."

The penny may have dropped for Gray during his first season at Hinckley when his face was slashed by a knife during gang trouble in the midlands.

It was then that Thomas pulled him into his office and spelled out a few home truths.

"We just had a heart-to-heart," Thomas explained.

"I said, 'This isn't the direction you want to be going if you want to be a professional footballer. All that time we've spent with you on the pitch, working hard, trying to keep you fit, improve your game - you will lose the dream that you wanted. You've got to breakaway from those kinds of people, knuckle down and one day you'll get a chance'.

"I was talking to professional football clubs, trying to get him out of the door. I said, 'Don't throw it away'.

"He said, 'Just make sure on Saturday gaffer you don't leave me out. Whatever happens, I'll strap my face up and I'll play'. And he did, that was him all over. He didn't want to throw away the opportunity, he knew he'd done wrong. We stuck by him and he was a massive asset to us."

Gray eventually left Hinckley and moved to Luton, before a move to Brentford at the start of last season and the £6million switch to Turf Moor last August.

"He was just another lad that had been released," Thomas added. "He could have fallen by the wayside, could knuckle down and become a good non-league footballer and earn a living or he could go one better.

"He stayed focused, we tried to keep him as professional as he could. He went away and did the hard work and he was one of those fortunate lads. The amount of hard work he has done has paid dividends.

"It's an incentive to other kids as well that the door is not always closed. You've got to work hard and one day you'll get that opportunity and Andre certainly did."