CONVICTED murderer Gavin Grant was the quiet member of Wycombe’s squad.

The players knew he had his troubles with the police in the past but never suspected that he could be a killer.

He had just been given a pay rise by Wanderers, triggered after making his 11th appearance for the club, and everything was looking good as supporters hailed him as a shrewd signing by boss Peter Taylor who had plucked him from non-league Stevenage where he’d been on loan from Millwall.

And even when he was arrested in a dawn raid on his home in October, just days after playing for Blues in a 1-1 draw at Grimsby, the players thought it was a misunderstanding and that he would be out soon.

So did the club.

They backed him and tried to help him get bail when he was remanded in custody.

They believed that the talented winger was innocent and that he would be back for the next game. They originally told the media he had a cold and told the players that he was away because of a family crisis.

And they continued to pay his wages up until Christmas.

He was paid in full until the end of October and then paid 50 per cent of his wages up until that Christmas.

After Christmas the payments effectively stopped as he was fined two weeks wages every time he was due to be paid before Wanderers eventually terminated his contract that March.

Grant, who had previously been acquitted of another murder when he was jointly charged with killing Jahmall Moore in January 2005, was charged with Leon Labastide’s murder after new witnesses came forward.

But after his Blues contract was cancelled, he was then given bail after the trial collapsed at the Old Bailey and a retrial was ordered.

Taylor, who had moved on to Bradford City by then, signed him again and Grant played 11 times for him at the tail end of last season.

But last week, the player was found guilty of shooting 21-year-old Labastide dead on May 23, 2004 – before he joined Wycombe.

Grant, who pleaded not guilty, wept as he was led away to the cells to begin a sentence of a minimum of 25 years.

He was convicted alongside co-defendant Gareth Downie, who also shot the victim and Damian Williams who was charged with conspiracy to murder.

All three were given life imprisonment and must serve a minimum 25 years before they are eligible for parole.

The court heard that the shooting was part of a series of tit-for-tat shootings in the Stonebridge Park estate.

Detective Inspector Steve Horsley said after the trial: “Gavin Grant thought he had got away with murder.

“He carried on his career while, all along, he had blood on his hands.”

As Grant was being sentenced at the Old Bailey, a woman protested from the public gallery saying “You are coming out”.

Wanderers owner Steve Hayes, chairman Ivor Beeks and senior media man and associate director Alan Parry have all refused to comment while the players have told of their shock.

Blues’ longest serving player Matt Bloomfield said: “I’m shocked. He was a nice quiet lad who came in and got on with his work. We knew he had been in trouble before but the way he came in and got on we thought he had turned his life around.

“When we were told he was off because there was something up with his family we thought that was all it was.”

When it became evident that Grant was not going to be released quickly the players were sat down and told that he had been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Bloomfield said: “It has been a real shock. Everyone expected him to come back out. We didn’t think he could be involved. We fully expected him to play again that season.”

Grant’s legal team are currently considering whether to appeal. They have 21 days from the date of his conviction, last Friday, to activate any appeal.