COLUMN: Former Mansfield and Chesterfield ace Sam Clucas the latest player to rise through the leagues

To go from playing in front of a few hundred folk to being a Premier League regular capped by your country.

Hard work and persistence paid off for those two and showed that rising through the divisions is indeed possible.

Sam Clucas is the latest player to jump up the leagues following his transfer to Hull City.

Clucas, aged 24, has gone from scratching around in the Lincolnshire leagues to joining a club whose last competitive game was against Manchester United.

He will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Vardy and Austin, who listed Stocksbridge Park Steels and Hungerford Town as former employers before the top flight came calling.

The deal for Clucas, by all accounts, was one that made sense for all parties.

Hull are getting a player who will aid their bid for an instant return to the Premier League, while the Spireites will be able to replace him with as many as three new acquisitions.

Mansfield Town will also benefit as they will get a cut of the fee as part of a sell-on clause included in the previous £100,000 transfer last year.

Saunders reflected: “I am very disappointed to have lost him, but he is going to a big club who were in the Premier League last year.

“Sam is a talented player and it has been a pleasure to work with him.”

Saunders also believes that Clucas is the perfect example, for youngsters or those currently in non-league, to follow.

“Having made the rise from non-league to the Championship in a couple of years, he is a shining example to any youngster hoping to make the grade.”