Danny Brown

Described as "a winner" by manager Jimmy Quinn when he was signed from Crawley last month, Danny Brown has immediately proved his versatility by playing in two positions in his first three games.

Primarily a central midfielder, the 26-year-old slotted in at left back last weekend in place of the injured Tommy Jaszczun and looked equally at home there.

Raised in Bethnal Green in East London, Brown came through the youth ranks at Watford and joined Leyton Orient at the age of 16. During his time with the O's he had a spell on loan in Iceland, which he describes as "an adventure", but before breaking into the first team there he was signed by Barnet at the age of 18 for £40,000.

"They offered me the opportunity to be playing every week," he explains as the main attraction of the move, and he stayed at Barnet for four years. He made 74 league appearances, scored eight goals and experienced two play-off campaigns followed by a season in the Conference before moving on to Oxford three years ago.

After two seasons there he joined Crawley in the summer of 2005 when new owners Azwar and Chaz Majeed were spending money freely to assemble a strong squad. But the Red Devils went into administration in June and the club's survival is still far from secure.

Crawley began this season with a 10-point deduction due to administration but their financial problems are ongoing and last month Brown, who began the season as Crawley captain, was released to reduce the wage bill.

"If I'm honest, it was a bit of a surprise to me," he says, "but needs must and it was a purely financial reason that I left. I suppose something had to give and they weighed up their options and it was me."

The straight-talking Eastender admits it was a difficult situation at Crawley, and although John Hollins' team soon made up the ten point deduction, the financial situation was a constant pressure.

"Of course it affects you if you're working day in, day out and you don't know if you're going to get paid, but the boys there just got on with it and did their job and dealt with each problem as it cropped up.

"The manager tried to almost make it a joke with us, and in a situation that dire it's sometimes the only way of looking at it," he adds. "The management there did a good job of keeping everybody going.

"I'm not in any position to judge their situation off the field, but they're still in with a chance on the field if they carry on. They've got decent enough players but they're lacking in numbers, which they'll find hard as the season goes on."

But Brown is now concentrating on making the most of his new start at United, and Jimmy Quinn noted that the midfielder's competitive qualities had already made a difference at the training ground in his first week.

"I've not come here to make friends, I've come here to win football matches," states Brown. "I'll do whatever it takes to win a match and if that means geeing the lads up or ruffling a few feathers to win games, I will. They aren't going to pay my bills at the end of the month and they're not going to tell my Missus why she can't buy what she wants, so I'm here to do a job.

"I think we've got the players to do well here, it's just a mentality that you have to instil and sometimes you need to bring in different players to do that.

"Sometimes when something comes from the manager it's almost as if he is the enemy so you might not take it on board, but if it's coming from another player, then maybe you'll sit up and take notice. That's what I'll try to do."

Danny has joined on non-contract terms because the transfer window is currently closed, but an 18-month deal has been agreed for when the window re-opens in January and he admits that it is a relief to know where the next pay cheque is coming from.

He said: "It's a refreshing change to know that you're going to get paid at the end of the month and be in a proper football club environment where there are no politics about that you have to deal with. I'm here to play football and that's it.

"It's good to know that I'm here now and this is where I'm going to be. This club needs to win football matches and I need to win football matches for my future - not just to the end of the season but next season as well."

The manager has pointed to inconsistency as the main hindrance to United so far this season, and Danny agrees: "You can't win one then lose one and be happy with that.

"You're not going to win every game, I know that, but what you can do is put your body on the line and give it everything you've got.

"When I came here the first thing was to win the battle and get away from the bottom. The league is so tight you can see that a couple of wins will take you right up the table, and if you can get a run going there's no reason why you can't get into the play-offs and anything can happen from there.

"But we need to get on a run, and if we do have a defeat or a bit of bad luck we've got to have enough men in there to bounce back and build it up again.

"You need 'nice' players but you also need 'ugly' players, and I wouldn't like to class myself as ugly but you need people who can do a job and organise and that comes with experience, so we need to get the right mixture if possible."

Danny looked comfortable at left back at Southport last weekend and made a vital last minute headed clearance to ease the pressure, but it is a position he has played for less than a year.

"I've always played centre midfield but towards the end of last season Crawley were down at the bottom and the new manager came in (John Hollins) and asked if I could do a job at left back because he wanted a solid back four," he recalls.

"To be fair it worked; we won five games on the spin and kept five clean sheets, and that's where I started this season. Before that I've always been a midfielder but playing there means I've been able to help out with the current injury situation."

At the time he was switched to left back, Danny also became Crawley captain, although his leadership skills were needed off the pitch as much as on: "I think captaincy is just something that comes with age, and with Crawley's situation I took on a lot of responsibility with the players and being a spokesman for the players about the money situation and other things.

"It was basically the players who asked me to take it on and it went OK, but I think you need to lead by example on the pitch whether or not you're the captain. I enjoy winning football matches and that's what I've managed to do quite a lot in my career."

Looking ahead, Danny muses, "We've won two and lost one since I came here and maybe me coming in shook a few of the squad up, but the problem we have at the moment is the injuries. If we can keep key players fit then I think we can get the results that we need."

With four home games in the next month, Danny hopes the squad can deal with the expectations of the home crowd and turn the Abbey Stadium into a fortress: "At the moment I think there's a bit of pressure in the home games and I don't know how much we profit from the home games, to be honest.

"It's a big club, there's a lot of expectation, and I don't know how everybody copes with that. Away from home, on the experience of my first away game at Southport, it seemed that the boys were more together and a more resolute attitude, but at home it's like there's a bit of tension.

"I think maybe it's the occasion that gets to some," he adds. "The supporters have been good and I think that tension would go with a few wins.

"If we win today then we'll feel like we're going to win the next one anyway, no matter who we're playing, and that boosts everyone up. It's just about getting those first few wins and then we can make the ground like a fortress."

On the prospects for the rest of the season, Danny believes there is still a long way to go and the play-offs are far from out of sight.

"The league is so tight I think anything is possible," he stresses. "If we win today and then win the next two games, it would put us just outside the play-offs and once you're up there anything can happen. I saw it last year with Crawley - we won those five games on the spin and we went from bottom to just below mid-table, so if they can do it I can't see why we can't do it.

"Winning is a habit and we need to get that habit. Once you've got that, then it all seems to follow."

My Favourite Game:
"Away to Southend in 1999 when I was at Barnet. We needed to win to get into the play-off places and I scored two in a 3-1 win, so that's a game that sticks out in my memory. Partly because the fans were chucking toilet rolls at me and one of the toilet rolls hit me on the head!"

Andrea Thrussell

*This interview was first published in the programme for the match against St Albans on 2nd December, 2006

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