Brill aiming to cement place

DEAN BRILL . . . looked assured in Saturday’s home game against Millwall.

LATICS NEWS:

ATHLETIC goalkeeper Dean Brill is confident his problems are firmly behind him following a troubled first half of the season.

The former Luton Town shotstopper took over as Athletic’s number one after former custodian Greg Fleming joined Scottish Division One outfit Dunfermline Athletic on a season-long loan.

But the 24-year-old was unable to find his best form during the early weeks of the League One campaign and manager Dave Penney reacted by bringing in Crystal Palace goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan on loan.

Flahavan kept the ’keeper’s jersey during a two-month loan spell, but returned to Palace last month after sustaining a fractured cheekbone while colliding with the goal frame.

Since reclaiming his place in Athletic’s team, Brill has been one of the few players to enhance his reputation.

He has played in Athletic’s last three matches at Hartlepool and at home to Tranmere and Millwall, and was particularly impressive at Boundary Park on Saturday, making a couple of vital saves and showing efficiency with his handling of crosses.

Now Brill hopes to continue in the same vein and ensure he keeps his place in the team for the rest of the season.

He said: “I made a couple of mistakes and goalkeepers are always brought to the fore when that happens.

“But I worked hard, kept my head down and just tried to be myself.

“I have always believed in my own ability and I I thought I did OK earlier in the season.

“Now I am back in the side and I want to stay there.”

Brill acknowledges that Athletic are embroiled in a relegation dogfight, but is convinced they have the ability and character to climb from the danger zone to a position of mid-table safety, starting at home to Brentford on Saturday.

He said: “We are not in a good position at the moment.

“But we will all stick together because we know what it takes to win games. We have confidence in ourselves.

“We created chances against a side (Millwall) around the play-offs.

“Every game is important, especially at home, and now we are looking to build on that performance.”