Rangers midfielder Josh Windass on a straight route from the Railway to football's fast lane

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Not long after scoring a first Premiership hat-trick for Rangers on Sunday afternoon, Josh Windass logged on to his Twitter account. Nothing unusual there, but it was perhaps instructive that he chose to retweet a chronology of his past six years.

The journey travelled to his current success has not been straightforward, but it was surely the making of him. By refusing to forget his humble roots, the 24-year-old is never likely to suffer any lack of appreciation for his elevated new status.

His story is not one of seamless progression from cossetted academy to high-earning senior professional. Aged 18 and having suffered a broken leg, Windass then endured the dispiriting blow of being released by Huddersfield Town.

Hat-trick hero Josh Windass shot Rangers back into second place in the Scottish Premiership

That deep disappointment could have separated him from the game. Instead, he willingly took himself to Harrogate Railway Athletic, in the Evo-Stik North Division One, to rebuild his career with a renewed determination.

Life in the eighth tier of English football has few luxuries. Windass, though, refused to be deterred.

His manager that season at Harrogate, Billy Miller, reflects warmly on how a single-minded teenager began his ascent towards becoming a talent with nine goals in his last five Rangers appearances.

‘To be fair to the kid, he was always 100-per-cent focused,’ Miller told Sportsmail. ‘Being released by Huddersfield would have come as a bit of a shock to him.

‘But he knew exactly what he wanted to achieve and he used his time at Harrogate to re-find himself as a footballer.

‘I actually watched him score his hat-trick in the Scottish Cup (against Fraserburgh) the other week. When he was asked about the pitch afterwards, he mentioned having played non-league and I thought that was really nice.

He vowed the Ibrox side won't be caught by their rivals in the race to finish best of the rest

‘He never missed training with us. He was always sharp and would stay on and do extra work on things like free-kicks and corners.

‘In fact, he actually did his own summer camp, a two-week thing with a friend of his, right at the start of pre-season to make sure he was ready.

‘You could see that Josh was always destined to go on and become better. We would normally train once or twice a week and we played 42 games across the course of the season in the Evo-Stik North.

‘That league ran pretty much from Darlington in the north-east and down and across to Manchester, Liverpool and back to Cumbria. It is a phenomenal commitment from the players because, obviously, most of them work as well.

‘Not only do they have to keep themselves fit, but they are also being asked to travel large distances in midweek after a long day at work.

‘They would get a small expense payment each week and it would vary from player to player.

On Friday, Windass (left) signed a contract extension keeping him at Ibrox until 2021

‘But I can remember going to meet Josh, near where he lived over Bradford way and telling him just to come in and that there would be no pressure on him.

‘It was an opportunity to re-evaluate and go again. At the end of that season, he got the chance to join Accrington Stanley and the rest, as they say, is history.’

His time with Accrington in League Two convinced Rangers to make their move in the summer of 2016.

Even then, it required the replacement of Pedro Caixinha by Graeme Murty last October to find the right tactical framework for Windass to truly flourish.

His progress was further marked last week when he signed a new contract at Ibrox until 2021.

Miller has been delighted to watch it all unfold, seeing the same smile Windass once wore when rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ramsbottom United, Clitheroe and Prescot Cables.

‘Josh actually broke his wrist in his last-ever game for us, playing over at Mossley,’ recalled Miller, who now works full-time in education.

‘He went up for a header just before half-time, put his hand out as he came down, fell backwards and ended up breaking a small bone in his wrist.

‘Myself and the physio took him over to the hospital in Manchester and sat with him for about nine hours while they re-set it all. Again, though, Josh has always had a really pleasant outlook on life. He was sat laughing and joking in the hospital bed.

‘More than anything, I am just so glad to see what Josh has achieved. It’s phenomenal. All we did was provide a platform.

‘We didn’t get Josh Windass to Rangers. He did that himself, with his whole ethos of commitment to the game.

‘I’m immensely proud of him. As a manager, you always keep your eye out for players who have played for you.

‘Every now and again, I will send Josh the odd text to wish him luck ahead of a big game.

‘I had a quick catch-up with him when he first moved to Rangers and it is brilliant to see him thriving at such a big club.’

As well as the hurt of being released by Huddersfield, the young Windass also had to cope with the expectation people inevitably bestow on those with famous fathers.

Dad Dean attained legendary status at Bradford City and spent three popular years with Aberdeen.

‘The pair of them, Dean and Josh, are brilliant people,’ insisted Miller. ‘Dean did a bit of non-league in the back end of his career and I knew him from when he played over at Scarborough.

‘Dean never put Josh under any pressure whatsoever. He just let him get on with it and guided him when he needed to.

‘I’m sure Dean, like the rest of us, is immensely proud of what Josh has achieved.

‘I just hope he goes on and fulfils his full potential because he always had it. He is still a young lad.

‘He is only 24 and has dealt with so much as a young man — being released by a pro club, going non-league, getting in at Accrington, taking his time to get a place in the side and earning a move to Rangers.

‘He is now in the place for the rest to happen and I have no doubt there is more to come in the years ahead.

‘For Josh right now, it is just about continuing on his path and making sure he maintains his place in the Rangers side.

‘I’m sure he will, because he was always so focused as a young man.’