Brown is growing in popularity

CONNOR Brown

CONNOR Brown polarises opinions at every ground he plays at, but the infectious enthusiasm of the full-back is helping him become a hit with Athletic fans.

The 23-year-old with the Sheffield vowels has shown the steel his home city is famous for by continually battling back from the fringes to become a regular in the side.

Brown (pictured) is set to start once again against Barnsley tomorrow, probably in the right-back slot made available through the suspension of first-choice Brian Wilson.

It was Wilson’s arrival that shut Brown out of the first-team picture earlier this season, leading him to ask for a move.

“I pushed to go on loan as I wasn’t getting any game time and I don’t like to be just sat about,” Brown said. “When you are sat on the bench, they go by very quickly.

“When I get games under my belt I get a run of form. That is all I needed really, to get some games to get that form back and play well.”

As a right-footed player operating on the left, Brown has done a sterling job for his side and one that has been rightly recognised by fans appreciative of his wholehearted approach.

At the same time, some fans of opposition clubs don’t like his tendency to go to ground easily to win free-kicks.

“I must be doing something right to be booed!” Brown added. “It is about playing clever in a bad situation. If you can’t get out, you may as well try to win something. So that’s what I do.”

Brown was a key part of Lee Johnson’s side which went the last 10 matches of the 2013-14 season unbeaten.

Up against his former boss tomorrow, he says that the decision made by the man he still calls ‘gaffer’ was understandable.

“He was a good manager and he worked well with the lads,” said Brown of Johnson.

“It was talked about for a bit – a week or so – so we were preparing just in case he did go.

“It was a big opportunity to go to a club like Barnsley. No disrespect to Oldham, but they have got a miles bigger budget.

“Really, he is taking a chance and who knows how it will go?

“Dean Holden is quality and so is Adam Lockwood. They have been around the game for a long time and know the ins and outs. I like them both.

“There might be (a point to prove) for players who weren’t playing when he was here if they get a chance on Saturday.

“But really we respect Lee, or ‘gaffer’ as I still call him, even though he has left.”