THERE were a few eyebrows raised earlier this week when Steve Clarke omitted the Sunderland striker Ross Stewart from his squad for Thursday's friendly against Poland at Hampden.

The 25-year-old has been on the rampage in League One this season, scoring 22 times and demonstrating the kind of all-round game that has had scouts turning up in big numbers at the Stadium Of Light this season.

To those who know Stewart well, the speed with which he has adjusted to his new surroundings has come as little surprise. The book detailing Stewart's life story is well thumbed. Since starting his career with Ardeer Thistle in 2013, his rise has been as intriguing as it has been swift. He has gone from the juniors to Sunderland in eight years via stints at Kilwinning Rangers, Albion Rovers, Alloa Athletic and Ross County. For Stuart Kettlewell, his former manager at the latter club, Stewart's tale of hard work and endeavour is one of enduring appeal.

“I have always had a lot of respect for people who have had that journey in football,” he says. “It's something that resonates with me because it was sort of my journey in football – starting from the bottom and then having a go in the Premiership. I think it shows a real degree of dedication and hunger to get to where you want to go. Ross has gone on and surpassed that and coming from the juniors, Albion Rovers, Alloa – I just love that pathway and the fact that in Scottish football it is still possible. Josh Mullin, one of Ross's team-mates at Ross County, had a similar story. We always felt that these guys had a hunger to write the next chapter in their career. I also think that whatever you put in front of somebody like Ross Stewart, he reaches that level very quickly even if he is short of an attribute or two he is somebody that learns very quickly and is able to get up to speed with the level that he is playing at.”

“He came in to Ross County as one of four strikers and he wasn't our first pick to begin with. You forget that he had only been a full-time player for a year by the time he signed for Ross County. During that first four or five months Ross surpassed our expectations and we knew the sky was the limit, he was just going to keep getting better and better.”

“I think you have to work at your craft. How do you become better at something by doing it less or just doing it the same? To become better at something you must do it more and repeat it over and over again and you must be looking for wee nuggets of information and areas to improve on so there are more things for you to go and work out. Someone like Ross Stewart is very much in that mould. Another aspect is how he lives his life. I've seen players who have had to be spoon fed when it comes to finding a house, a flat, feeding themselves, understanding when to rest. He moved to a completely new place, 200 miles away and just picked it up and ran with it. I know first hand that he has done that at Sunderland as well. That's a rare trait in football now.”

It is surely only a matter of time before Stewart takes the next step up – whether that is with Sunderland or someone else. Swansea City are one of a host of Championship clubs who have been credited with an interest while a number of Premier League clubs have also been keeping a watchful eye.

Bolstered by the goals of the leading marksman in the division Sunderland could, of course, secure promotion themselves having put together a run that has returned them to the League One play-off places after they briefly lost their way following the sacking of Lee Johnson and the appointment of Alex Neil.

For supporters of the north-east club, Stewart's exclusion from Clarke's squad was greeted with competing emotions. Paul Dobson, of Sunderland fanzine A Love Supreme, would have liked Stewart to be given a chance for his country but is similarly grateful that the risk of the talismanic striker sustaining an injury has been lessened.

“We want him to get the recognition, especially since it is a friendly,” says Dobson. “I would understand if it was a competitive game and the manager wants to go with the squad that he knows can do a job for him but I thought he was well worth a try out – but he is our standout forward this season, he is absolutely vital to our promotion hopes. It looks like for the second season in a row we are going to have the top scorer in the division [it was Charlie Wyke last season]. He has got seven or eight games to go and he has already got 22 so there is a very good chance he is going to be top of the table. It would be strange if the team that had that in consecutive seasons didn't go up in consecutive seasons.”

As one might expect, Stewart has proved a popular figure on Wearside and has drawn favourable comparisons with one of the great Sunderland strikers of the Premier League era. Dobson concurs, even if he believes making such comparisons is an inexact science.

“People have compared him to Niall Quinn. There is an obvious similarity but I think Quinn was probably more of a thinker and didn't chase the ball as much. I'm not saying Ross Stewart doesn't think – he obviously does because he is very good – but he'll chase and harry all day long

“I think he can go a long way. He's two divisions down from where Niall Quinn played but if we go up and he hangs around, he has every chance of making a big fist of it in the Championship.”

And where does Kettlewell feel the ceiling is?

“I'm on BBC every weekend doing Open All Mics and whenever Ross scores I sound like a cheerleader,” he laughs. “I don't know where the ceiling is – that's honest – that's the beauty of Ross. If you're asking me could he go and score goals in the Championship – 100% he could. If you're asking if he gets a call-up from Steve Clarke to go and play in the national squad do I think people would be surprised by how good he was – I do, absolutely. We're talking about a guy who is 6ft 4ins, nearly 6ft 5ins, that can run quicker than anybody, that is incredible in the air, that has got lovely soft feet, great touch, can finish with his head, can finish with his feet – tell me something there that doesn't work at any level of football. Everybody wants a No.9 that can do all of those things and I'm telling you categorically that he can do all of those things.”