WASTED talent – it's one of my pet hates, especially when it comes to sportsmen and women.

Maybe it’s because I’d have given my right arm to be at the top of my game in one sport and make a career out of it, rather than okay at a few and enjoy them as hobbies.

That’s why I find it sad and infuriating in equal measure when someone with God-given ability doesn’t make the most of it.

Burnley’s Keith Treacy could be whatever he wanted to be if he put his mind to it.

The question is, how much does he want out of his career?

The answer will lie on the training ground and on the pitch.

Another player I think of is Paddy McCourt, who is possibly the most naturally gifted footballers I’ve ever seen with my own eyes.

At the age of just 16/17 the wiry winger was completely captivating, skipping past defenders with breath-taking ease – finishing moves he started with exquisite strikes.

Scouts clamoured to Spotland to watch the young Irishman every time he played, and a Northern Ireland cap (against Spain) came soon after he broke into the Rochdale first team.

But the bright lights of his new-found fame became a distraction and it affected his performances.

So much so that it resulted in this Premier League prospect spending three years in the wilderness with Derry City, after a brief spell with Shamrock Rovers, before Celtic offered him a second chance at the big time in June 2008.

But, despite reported interest from Liverpool in the summer, he’s never truly filled his immense potential.

Perhaps, now 27, he never will – although I still live in hope.

At four years his junior, there is scope for Keith Treacy to avoid making the same mistakes.

In speaking about his time at Blackburn when he arrived at Burnley in the summer he explained it was his mother’s influence that took him to Ewood Park.

She felt the security of the Brockhall base for apprentices would be good for him and, in his words ‘stay out of trouble’.

She feared the effect of the bright lights too.

But perhaps that was only part of the problem, because gifted players don’t always graft.

After taking the Dubliner off before half time at Coventry, Burnley manager Eddie Howe summed it up perfectly.

“I know what he’s capable of, he’s a very talented lad,” Howe said.

“He’s got unbelievable ability and really could play at a higher level than he is.

“But first and foremost he’s got to get in my team week in week out.

“We’ve got to help him do that but he’s also got to help us in return.

“Every player who goes on the pitch, no matter who they are or how old they are has to perform.

“If they don’t perform then they won’t stay on the pitch.”

Howe stuck with Treacy at Cardiff on Tuesday, hoping for a response from the player.

There was a bit more perspiration from the Dubliner, who has dropped down the Republic of Ireland pecking order after previously being second in line to Damien Duff, but there’s still room for improvement.