GREG Stewart may or may not be named Player of the Year tonight, but if there was an award for the story of the season, he would surely be the winner.
Twelve months ago, this quiet, unassuming lad from Stirling was plying his trade for Cowdenbeath, dividing his time between playing and a day job in high-pressure water jetting at Grangemouth oil refinery. Tonight, at a glitzy bash at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow, the water will have turned to wine when the Dundee player is acclaimed as one of the four best footballers in the country.
He may have reached the age of 25 without making too many waves, but having scored 15 goals in his first campaign after benefiting from full-time training and fitness, this could just be the start for Stewart.
Whatever happens, it is his memories of the shifts at the refinery that will keep him grounded.
"I still keep in touch with the guys," said Stewart, who was in the youth ranks at Hearts, but when released, spent a year at Syngenta Juveniles to regain his appetite for the game. "I get quite a few texts from them and my best mate still works there. I just send him a text every now and then to let him know I'm in the house and he's at his work. I always say to myself I need to keep working as hard as possible."
The strides Stewart has made this season have not gone unrewarded. He voted for Stefan Johansen for Player of the Year, little suspecting the Norwegian would reciprocate.
While a sending off against St John- stone - the second booking of which was for diving - was a recent blot, the next step must be the prospect of a move to a bigger club or even, whisper it, a Scotland call-up. The player is developing all aspects of his game and recently renewed his contract at Dens Park until 2016.
"It's always something you want to do as a kid, play for your country, and if I just keep working hard and scoring goals, hopefully one day I might get that chance," said Stewart. "Tam Ritchie, the fitness coach at Dundee, has worked with me all season and he has got me into good shape. The gaffer has got me doing a lot of duties, taking free-kicks and corners, and I'll play wherever I'm asked to."
While working with Paul Hartley has elevated his game, Stewart is always sure to name-check Jimmy Nicholl, his manager during two spells at Cowdenbeath. A delighted Nicholl compares him to Craig Brewster, with whom he worked at Raith Rovers. Nicholl's two spells book-ended a period under Colin Cameron, when surprisingly Stewart struggled to get a regular game.
"Right away I took an instant liking to the kid," said Nicholl, who signed Stewart after a trial period. "I thought of him as a new Craigy Brewster. People thought he ran too much with the ball, took too many people on at times and was a bit too selfish. But for a young lad, he struck up such a great relationship straight away with Kane Hemmings, seeing passes, and doing all the stuff I remember Brewster doing with Stevie Crawford.
"I don't know what happened when wee Mickey [Cameron] was there. I don't know if he thought he wasn't working hard enough. But as an ex-defender I loved sitting there and thinking those two [Stewart and Hemmings] were playing. The worst thing in the world is thinking 'we are not going to get a goal today'. They worked hard for you, they had to, because we were fighting for our life."
Stewart isn't blessed with blinding pace, but he is no slouch and other parts of his game more than compensate. "In this day and age they talk about pace, pace up front, pace in the middle, pace at the back, but Greg is quicker than people give him credit for, and his fitness levels are good. He has that game intelligence and quick thinking that makes the difference," said Nicholl. "He can score goals from anywhere, but when you are playing on that left side, you really have to do a shift as well."
Stewart has refined his game since leaving the refinery, but his work ethic continues to stand him in good stead.
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