Happy days as Beckford settles into Town life

The former Leeds United forward, 28, is embracing life on loan at the John Smith’s Stadium under the guidance of Grayson – who worked with him so productively at Elland Road – after a frustrating start to the season at Leicester City, where he was out in the cold at the start of 2012-13.

The Foxes finally agreed to Beckford’s much-mooted 93-day loan move to Town at the end of last month, with the Londoner announcing himself to his new club in trademark fashion with a clinically-taken strike in the 1-0 win at Birmingham on October 6.

Beckford needs just one more strike to complete his century of league goals and while his prodigious goalscoring may be his chief asset, Grayson is adamant there remains more to his game.

Grayson said: “He has a got a real spring in his step; I have never probably seen him happier in a long time. He is coming into work fully committed to what he is doing and likes it here and working with the players.

“He is enjoying what he is doing. As a footballer, you need that. If you are not enjoying going into work every day, which may or may not have been the case at previous clubs, he is certainly doing that here.

“I think his game has developed. Even at Leeds, people got carried away by saying he was a goalscorer and not anything else. When you have got the pace and power which he has in his locker as well, it certainly unsettles defenders.

“If you look in the first minute of the game at Birmingham, he outmuscled Curtis Davies with a strong, powerful run and played it into Vaughany (James Vaughan). He was a constant threat and people should concentrate on other aspects of his game as well.”

Town and Northern Ireland midfielder Oliver Norwood is basking in the glory of returning from his country’s impressive World Cup qualifying midweek draw in Portugal with a prized possession – Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt following his milestone 100th international for his country – and Grayson feels his pitch experiences will prove a big benefit for both himself and his club.

He added: “I know Oliver was delighted to get Cristiano’s shirt.

“But having spoken to him, he was disappointed Northern Ireland never actually won the game. He will have learnt a huge amount from the games as he was playing against some world-class players and it will stand him in good stead the more he does that.”

Grayson will assess the fitness of defender Joel Lynch (knee) today ahead of tomorrow’s home game with Wolves.