Hatters striker earns England C selection

Gray is one of eight new faces in manager Paul Fairclough’s 18-man squad for a very difficult International Challenge Trophy Group A fixture with Russia.

The match will be played in the Arena Khimki, the home of FC Dynamo Moscow, on Tuesday, June 5.

Gray has made a massive impact at Kenilworth Road since joining from Hinckley in March, scoring six goals in 11 games.

Pilkington said: “There’s nothing worse for a defender than a player with pace running at you and Andre’s been a breath of fresh air.

“He is raw, he is competitive, he is dogged, he does all the hard stuff and scores goals.

“He’s been an outstanding acquisition and long may it continue.”

Neilson was also thrilled by his inclusion, saying: “It’s great news, he’s been absolutely superb. I watched him play at Hinckley against Corby.

“Me and James Quinn the scout left after 60 minutes and rang Gary Brabin, who was manager at the time to say, he’s a player, he’s a good player.

“He’s proved that. He’s strong, not afraid to get stuck in and ever since he’s been here he’s been absolutely superb. He’s got to keep doing the same things and it’s great he’s got England recognition.”

Pilkington believes that the 20-year-old and top scorer Stuart Fleetwood have forged a fantastic relationship heading into the play-off final against old foes York City at Wembley on Sunday, May 20.

Town’s swift counter-attacking has been a real feature of recent matches and Pilkington added: “Again that’s down to player selection.

“He (Buckle) plays Fleets and Andre Gray up there and you won’t get two quicker centre-forwards in the league.

“Like we saw at home against Wrexham on Thursday, they scare the life out of defenders.

“You defend from the front, it, it’s an old cliche but it’s true. They set off the tone of the other team when they are attacking, you take your shape off that.

“We’ve got a good squad here, a lot of players on the bench who are fighting for their chance to play at Wembley – we’ve got a couple of weeks to get that right. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

England C squad: Kenny Davis (Braintree Town), Nathan McDonald, (Braintree Town), Rory McAuley (Cambridge United), Junior Brown (Fleetwood Town), Kieron Forbes (Forest Green Rovers), Scott Garner (Grimsby Town), Michael Coulson (Grimsby Town), Simon Ainge (Guiseley), Anthony Malbon (Kidderminster Harriers), Marvin Johnson (Kidderminster Harriers), James Vincent (Kidderminster Harriers), Andre Gray (Luton Town), Lindon Meikle (Mansfield Town), Andrew Owens (Southport), Stephen Brogan (Stalybridge Celtic), Jonathan Hedge (Tamworth), Joshua Wilson (Vauxhall Motors), Ashley Chambers (York City).

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