Striker Gray wants to eclipse Irvine’s 29-goal haul

Record signing Andre Gray is going the right way about things if he’s wanting to break records at Turf Moor.
Burnley's Andre Gray is congratulated on scoring his team's first goal

Photographer Dave Howarth/CameraSport

Football - The Football League Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Brighton & Hove Albion - Sunday 22nd November 2015 - Turf Moor - Burnley 

© CameraSport - 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comBurnley's Andre Gray is congratulated on scoring his team's first goal

Photographer Dave Howarth/CameraSport

Football - The Football League Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Brighton & Hove Albion - Sunday 22nd November 2015 - Turf Moor - Burnley 

© CameraSport - 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Burnley's Andre Gray is congratulated on scoring his team's first goal Photographer Dave Howarth/CameraSport Football - The Football League Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Brighton & Hove Albion - Sunday 22nd November 2015 - Turf Moor - Burnley © CameraSport - 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

Having equalled Bert Freeman’s long-standing milestone of netting braces in three successive fixtures on home soil, the £6m man will look to follow in Willie Irvine’s footsteps.

The 24-year-old scored his 11th of the campaign from the spot in a 1-1 draw with unbeaten Brighton on Sunday - not quite enough to surpass Freeman’s haul that was set 103 years ago.

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But it helped the former Brentford striker take another step closer to the post-war record of 29 league goals that Irvine notched half-a-century ago.

The Northern Irish forward scored 37 times across all competitions during the 1965/66 season.

Gray, who would also sail past Andy Payton’s modern day record of 27 league goals of 1999/2000 should he eclipse Irvine, said: “I don’t really set a target but obviously I want to score in every game. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going.

“I’ve not heard about the record, it’s the first I’ve known about it, but hopefully I can break it. The main thing is that we get promoted. Fingers crossed.”

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However, Gray accepts that personal records are secondary to the ultimate ambition of gaining promotion back to the top flight. “I’ve got to take everything in my stride and show teams exactly why they’re worried about me,” he said.

“I’ll just take each game as it comes, get us some more goals and hopefully help us get to the Premier League.

“The main thing is for the club to stay at the top, that’s the main aim. I could stay 0n this amount of goals for the rest of the season but as long as we get promoted then that’s all that matters.”

Gray lifted his penalty just out of the reach of Seagulls stopper Adam Stockdale to consolidate his spot at the top of the Championship scoring charts.

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The equaliser came a minute after veteran striker Bobby Zamora had opened the scoring for Brighton after 57 seconds.

“I’m not really a penalty taker but I seem to be now,” he said. “It was good to get us back in the game and obviously get us that point in the end. There’s a little agreement with me and Vokesy but he didn’t play.

“The first penalty we got was obviously mine. It’s just a case of making your mind up on where you want to go and hoping that the keeper doesn’t save it.”

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