Young talent with desire to succeed

TOMMY Conway once shared an apartment with Alex Scott, the Jersey-born starlet who made a £20m switch from Bristol City to Bournemouth last summer.

- Chris Dunlavy

Unlike his illustrious housemate, however, Conway was not a player long earmarked for greatness.

His youth years were relatively unremarkable and he spent several seasons on the periphery at Ashton Gate amidst loans to Bath City and Yate Town.

It was not until last season that a flurry of goals propelled him into the first-team picture and it is only now, within the aggressive pressing system of Liam Manning, that the 21-year-old is making the sort of impression that suggests a berth alongside Scott in the Premier League is not an unreasonable ambition.

Pre-weekend, Conway had scored four goals in nine games under Manning, who replaced Nigel Pearson in early November.

It represents the forward’s most prolific run of form since the start of last season, when he scored six times in five weeks to win the Championship Young Player of the Month award for August, and a first cap for Scotland’s Under-21s.

“He is a youngster, very hungry for success and he works exceptionally hard at his game,” said Pearson. “On a physical and psychological level, he has made great strides over the last 12 months.”