Exclusive: Semi-final versus Wolves soundly sums up Andre Gray's journey

Wolves are the team he got his first break at as a youngster and the city is where he grew up – and learned some tough life lessons.

Raised in Ettingshall by a single mother, Gray got involved in the wrong crowd, to the point where his face was slashed on a night out in the city centre in December 2011.

A four-inch scar on his left cheek is a lasting reminder of those days for the 27-year-old, which he now uses as motivation in a career that has seen him rise through non-league and led him to the national stadium with the Hornets, having scored the winner against Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals.

"I think if you'd have asked me 10 years ago, I would have never thought I'd be playing against my hometown club in an FA Cup semi-final, as a Premier League player," said Gray.

"It is a full circle situation, where I'm playing against my hometown club, someone I've played for before and, obviously, followed as well, being from there.

"Regardless of who we played, it would have been a special day for me, personally.

"It was good to get the winner against Palace, special to get the goal to get us to Wembley.

"But playing my hometown club, it puts that extra bit of spice to it."

Gray was a Hinckley United player when he was attacked outside a Wolverhampton nightclub at the age of 20.

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He ended up being picked up by the Knitters following spells in Wolves and Shrewsbury Town's youth set-ups, making a handful of first-team appearances for the latter and also having a loan spell at AFC Telford United.

The speedy centre forward was released by Wolves aged 13, but he says he had fun in the youth set-up at Molineux. A fair few from his age group have gone on to enjoy successful careers in the game too.

"I don't remember too much. You're just young and having fun," said Gray.

"It's a good feeling, knowing you're playing for an academy team.

"It's a long time ago now, and when you're young, it doesn't really matter as much. It's more of a learning curve.

"I played with Danny Batth, Ashley Hemmings, Kyle Bennett, and I know Elliott Bennett.

"There was a lot of us, Scott Malone as well. We had a good age group and a lot of them have gone on to play professional football, so that speaks volumes of the academy."

There came a time though where Gray needed to get out of Wolverhampton – to move away from the gang culture he was involved in and set out on the right path.

Luton Town came calling in March 2012, initially signing him on loan, after a prolific spell with Hinckley.

He did enough to earn a permanent deal and has never looked back, then moving on to Brentford, then Burnley, then Watford – in big-money transfers each time.

"That was the point where I feel like my hard work, the lessons that I learned, paid off," said Gray on leaving home for Luton.

"It gave me that step back into professional football.

"I learnt from my mistakes and knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my career, professional football.

"I just tried to work hard, take things in my stride, and get to where I am today.

"Definitely. It was the best thing that happened, to move away – and quite far away, not so easy to get home and be around it.

"You do some growing up. You have to live on your own.

"You have a choice to make, I had a chance to make a career for myself – this is all I've known since I was young – so I just did that and took myself away from it."

But just because he had to move away from Wolverhampton to turn his life around, it does not mean Gray – who is heavily tattooed with designs on the civil rights movement and various icons – ignores where he was raised.

He recently lost his aunt and his grandad passed away when he was a teen, but a lot of his family are still in the Black Country – and they are Wolves fans as well.

"I was there my whole life (in Ettingshall), really," said Gray.

"Everyone's there and most people are Wolves fans, all my friends are.

"Even down to my barber and stuff like that. It's a small place compared to a lot of places, but Wolves are a big club, so everyone supports them.

"It's been like that since I can remember.

"I always go back. It's where I grew up. My family are there. I like to go back.

"It's always good to see everyone. It's normality for me, so I enjoy going back and being around it.

"That's my roots, where I come from. I'm not going to run from my past.

"It's about trying to make a difference with it now if anything.

"We've all grown up now. I'm not going to hide from it, I'll face it up, that's what it was.

"It's taken me to where I am now, and everything has been a lesson learned."

Gray has spoken in the past about knife culture almost being a 'fashion'. On if being involved in gangs is a lot about one-upmanship, he said: "Sort of. At the end of the day, you're with your friends and some family members.

"It's not as much following, but just being a part of it.

"I didn't grow up in the best area, so these are the kinds of things that happened, at times.

"That's just how it is sometimes. As you grow up, you learn a lot.

"It's how you deal with things and react to things. All I've tried to do is better myself as a person and footballer."

Gray, no doubt about it, has come out the other side – and he wants to help others avoid making the same mistakes he did as a youngster.

He wants to work with them in a bid to lessen knife crime, by speaking to those involved and getting to the root of the problem.

"It's something I'm working on, figuring the best way to go about it, the things to do," said Gray.

"It's a difficult situation. It's not something that can happen overnight, but it's something I plan on doing as soon as possible.

"I'm from that culture, from that background, so I understand it.

"I feel like I can have a big part to play, in the right way.

"It's figuring the best way to go about it. I'd like to be hands-on with it and not just let other people do it.

"I'd like to have a lot of input because it's hard for people who haven't been there to understand it all. There's a lot more that goes into it."

Gray wants to be there to help youngsters enduring hardship, having had some good characters around him as he's progressed through the footballing ranks.

One of those figures has been Watford striker Troy Deeney, who had troubles as a teenager in Birmingham and even spent time behind bars but has now been the Hornets' captain for almost a decade.

"It's always nice. He's the captain as well, and a big figure at this club," said Gray.

"It's good to have someone who understands your background, as not many people do. It's rare that people have been in our situations and gone on to make careers in football.

"It helps and it's good to have someone there who understands it."

Gray may start up front with Deeney against Nuno Espirito Santo's side at Wembley.

He thinks there are some similarities between Watford and Wolves – both having a talented crop of foreign players, but a British core too.

"I think every team needs that good core of players who have come through the system, been over here, being from here," said Gray.

"It's a different culture and way of playing, so you need that in the team.

"It's not always going to be pretty football, especially in the Premier League.

"It always bodes well when you have that spine of the team which can share its experience with everyone else."

Gray came off the bench as the Hornets won 2-0 in the league at Molineux back in October, but knows it will be difficult to replicate that result on the 'biggest' day of the season for both sides.

"I think we're in for a great game. It's two teams that have, from the outside, over succeeded," he said.

"We're both fighting for seventh place in the Premier League as well.

"I think it just speaks volumes of both clubs, both managers, both squads, what we've each achieved this season regardless of the outcome.

"Anything can happen at the end of the day, they've done fantastically but so have we. We'll see.

"This is the biggest game of both of our seasons, in terms of it being that one defining day.

"We're both safe from relegation now, so that was the first hurdle.

"This is the biggest single game of the season both teams have had."

Of course, Gray would love nothing more to get to the final with Watford.

But if they are beaten by Nuno's charges, he wants them to be victorious in the final.

"Why not? I'm not a supporter, but it is my hometown and it would be great for the city if they did it if we didn't," added Gray.

"I think I would probably be egging Wolves on – if they manage to beat us."