Burton striker Billy Kee wins Football League young player award

Burton Albion striker Billy Kee has won the Football League Young Player of the Month award for October after scoring five goals for the League Two side.

Former Leicester trainee Kee, who joined from Torquay in August, has scored eight goals this season.

"You do not see many strikers like me any more," Kee told the BBC. "I am a little bit old school."

Burton boss Paul Peschisolido added: "Billy is only 20 and has the qualities to play at a much higher level."

Kee scored against Burton at the Pirelli Stadium during a loan spell at Accrington during the 2009-10 campaign and again with Torquay last season.

"He has been a thorn in our side," added Peschisolido. "I asked the coaching staff at Leicester, with whom we have a fairly close relationship, about Billy and they spoke highly of him from his time there.

"He has not really had a steady campaign yet but he has shown me that, if he has a steady run of games, he is going to be prolific.

"I'm sure that, if he keeps going, there will be plenty of clubs coming down to watch him."

Kee, a Northern Ireland Under-21 international, is believed to have cost Burton £20,000, although the fee remains undisclosed.

"Whatever the exact figure, he has been an absolute bargain, he has a great attitude and deserves his young player award," added 40-year-old Peschisolido, who played as a striker at clubs such as Birmingham, Fulham, Sheffield United and Derby.

"Billy can finish and does not just score tap-ins. He scores 20-yarders and headers, he is really brave in the box and has great anticipation. When he gets there he will put his face where it hurts."

Kee scored nine goals in 44 games last season for Torquay and reached the League Two play-off final at Old Trafford, which was won by Stevenage.

However, he suffered from homesickness during his time on the south coast and was unhappy after leaving his friends and family to return to pre-season training in the summer.

"I'm a bit of a home boy and, when the chance came to join Burton, I jumped at it," added Kee.

"I have never been so happy and I've settled really well; being close to my friends and family, lots of good guidance and a gaffer that really wants to push me - put all that together and I have been really enjoying myself."

Kee, a solidly built forward, seems to relish the physical aspect of the game. He started out as a goalkeeper and played as a defender before he was converted into a centre forward.

"As I got older, a player that I watched more and more was Dean Windass," said the Brewers' forward.

"I like to try to mix it with opposition defenders. Sometimes I play better when they are trying to bully me."

Kee's goals have helped Burton climb to eighth in League Two, three points off the automatic promotion places.

Burton's hopes of promotion last season were undermined by a series of postponed fixtures that left the team facing 24 games in the final 96 days of the campaign.

Kee is hopeful his goals can help Burton, who won promotion into the Football League in 2009, reach League One at the end of the current campaign, but he is refreshingly candid enough to admit that he is already living a dream by playing professional football.

"I just hope to make a living out of the game," he said. "This is a dream to me. I don't liking setting targets but I just want to score as many goals as I can."