Watford star Troy Deeney used to rely on fellow lags handing over food to get by… now he’s on £50,000-a-week

The Watford captain, who bagged the winner in a thrilling 3-1 victory over Manchester United a fortnight ago, was caged four years ago for stamping on a man’s head.

Said Deeney, 28: “Inside, these people sat me down and said: 'Look, you're an idiot. We're in here because we chose to do this, this and this. Our dads have done this. It's a generation thing, they've stolen, they've robbed. But you're in a position where you can help yourself'.

“There were days when I couldn't be bothered to go gym, so they'd say, 'come on, we'll go gym' and they'd get on the treadmill with me. Little things like that.

“First week and a half, I didn't really have much money in the account to buy anything, so people gave me food and said: 'Nah don't worry about giving it me back. Get your head sorted get yourself back into it’.

“And I was like 'if they can see the potential in me, why can't I see the potential in myself'.”

After his release in 2012, the striker spearheaded the Hornets' Premier League promotion in 2015.

And last season his 15 Prem goals earned him a bumper £50,000-a-week contract.

But Birmingham-born Deeney revealed the price earning big can have on young footballers.

Speaking about joining Watford from Walsall in 2010, he told Forever Sports magazine: "My salary went up considerably at the age of 22, so I was Jack the Lad.

“I used to call the lads out every weekend and thought 'let's enjoy it because they are going to realise I'm crap at football soon and get rid of me’.”

He claims his luxurious lifestyle would have come crashing down around him if it wasn’t for his wife Stacey.

He added: "She was going to leave me. I was doing what young boys do. I was earning a good wage, going out with all the lads, messing about with girls and thinking I was a man.

“And she said to me: 'If you get sent down, I'll stick with you, and if you don't, I'm leaving you.'

"My son had just turned one, so she was like 'Look, this is it. This or this: you choose’. Thankfully - I say thankfully - I got sent down. She stuck with me. She took care of everything back home, because I wasn’t getting paid at this point when I was in jail. She took care of everything.

"Then I started realising who my true mates were. I was taking care of a lot of people but for the wrong reasons.

“I paid for stuff that they could afford to pay for themselves, but I was just like, 'I'll take care of it’.

“And then when I was away, people couldn't even send £20 for me to make a phone call home.”

Deeney was jailed for 10 months in June 2012 for a street brawl.

He served three months before being released in September.

He went onto play 40 times for Watford that season, scoring 20 goals in the process.

His club heroics eventually saw him be made club captain in 2014/15 season, leading the Hornets back into the top flight after eight years.