Striker Tommy Wright repaid the faith shown in him and more with an unbelievable 64 goals over the past two seasons.

After scoring 51 times for Salisbury last season, while dual-registered, and 13 for Sutton United this year, few were surprised that the 21-year-old received the Sportsbeat Young Player of the Year accolade at Wednesday’s National Game Awards, in association with SCL.

The evening celebrates the achievements of another special year of non-league football in Stamford Bridge.

“Talking to the manager over the season, he said that he’d give me a chance and I managed to take that and kick on,” said Wright.

“It’s been better than I was expecting. I thought that it could have been another season going out on loan because of my age and the physicality of the National League.”

And he certainly made an impact; his goal tally helped steer Sutton to third place in the National League.

They were cruelly denied promotion to League Two after a nail-biting play-off saw Boreham Wood inflict a 3-2 defeat.

But having caught a glimpse of what could be, Wright is determined to go bigger and better, starting with England C’s game against Republic of Ireland on May 27.

“I’m proud of the year I’ve had and I’m proud of Sutton – finishing third is a massive achievement for a club our side, especially with the clubs in our league,” he said.

“It’s the icing on the cake for a brilliant season, especially with the England C game in a few weeks.

“After the disappointment of losing in the play-offs, this and the England C game are just what I needed.

“It was a big shock when I got the phone call saying I’d won, and to go and collect the award was an honour.

“There’s some unbelievable talent across of the non-league, so to be singled out for this award, especially as a youngster, is incredible.

“I’ve got the taste for it and I want to keep performing, and hopefully get a few more awards under my belt.”

SCL are one of the UK’s leading independent providers of education through sport for 16-18 year-olds. SCL deliver Academy programmes across football, rugby and cricket, in partnership with more than 70 professional, private and grassroots sports clubs, foundations and community trusts. Find out more at www.wearescl.co.uk/education