Confidence the key for ’keeper Brill

ATHLETIC ’keeper Dean Brill puts his excellent pre-season form down to improved confidence levels.

The former Luton Town stopper had a mixed campaign last time out. Dropped three times by then-manager Dave Penney, the 24-year-old made numerous costly errors in between keeping 11 clean sheets.

But new boss Paul Dickov clearly liked what he saw of a refreshed Brill in training.

Such was his confidence in the Athletic ’keeper’s abilities, Dickov elected to put returning Scottish custodian Greg Fleming — who many expected to challenge for the number one spot — on the transfer list.

Brill has repaid the faith shown in him with a serious of bright, assertive performances. Against Burnley he saved Chris Iwelumo’s penalty and followed that up with a series of smart stops against Wigan.

And a pair of unblemished records against higher-level opposition in Bolton and Preston provide the perfect platform on which Brill can head into the new season.

“Pre-season is about fitness and sharpness and I am just happy to play as many minutes as I can,” said Brill, who is entering his second season at Boundary Park.

“I think I did okay last season, but I feel I have got a lot more to show.

“Obviously I made a few mistakes. I am a young lad and, hopefully, I can learn from that and carry on how I have started in the friendlies.

“I think you have to have confidence in yourself, and since the gaffer has come in there is a good atmosphere about the place.

“We are getting to be a close-knit group and he has instilled the confidence in us to go out and play.

“There is a lot more freedom now, and we believe in ourselves that we have got good players”

While Dickov has guarded against reading too much into friendly results, there is no doubt that Athletic have performed impressively against those sides ranked higher in the football pyramid.

The real stuff begins this weekend at Tranmere. Brill reckons that despite the loss of the likes of Leeds and Norwich last season and a host of clubs cutting their playing budgets due to tight finances, npower League One will still be a difficult and highly competitive environment.

“This division is always going to be strong, the way football is going,” he added.

“I don’t think we have lost any quality.

“When you look at the calibre of teams even coming up from League Two, you can see that it is a strong division again this year.”