Jordon Brown knows he has to make the most of every opportunity he gets in the Cove Rangers first-team.
Former Peterhead midfielder Brown was drafted back into the Cove side for the 3-0 defeat to Dundee on Tuesday night, which ended with the Aberdeen side finishing with nine men.
Brown’s only start prior to last night was the 2-2 draw with Brora Rangers earlier in the competition, but he is hopeful of retaining his place for the Forfar game on Saturday.
He did not start a game in the league last season as Cove surged to the League Two title but has pledged to deliver as best he can to retain his place in the side, starting against Forfar in the Betfred Cup today.
Brown said: “It’s great how the team’s been going and I’ve no complaints when the team is winning every week. The boys have been absolutely superb – everyone knows how good the squad is.
“I came back in pre-season and felt I did quite well. I’ll always be ready to play; it gets harder the less matches you play, but I loved it on Tuesday night.
“Coming off, I said to Seb (Ross), Mitch (Megginson) and Leighton (McIntosh) that it was great to be back out there. I know to be in that team, I need to be scoring goals and assisting. Tuesday night never turned out like that, but hopefully I get to feature more.
“All I can do is keep my head down. I always keep myself in good shape to be as ready as can be. It’s been a long time since I’ve played with these boys competitively and great to be back out there.”
💬 “The players never gave up, they were still right in the game at 1-0, with 10 to 15 minutes to go.”
Read what the manager had to say after last night’s match here 👉 https://t.co/YTsjpHirzy pic.twitter.com/6cX4El8oRW
— Cove Rangers FC (@CoveRangersFC) November 11, 2020
Brown points to the example of Rory McAllister, who came off the bench against Partick Thistle to score the winner and was in the team to face Forfar last Saturday.
He added: “I’ve always said the best way to affect the game for players in our position is to score a goal. Look at the difference a goal makes for Rory. I was absolutely delighted for him.
“I hoped Tuesday night would be the night to get a goal and myself and Mitch linked up a couple of times early on. It was good to feel that competitiveness again in a team fixture.”
Fraser Fyvie is also primed for a return to the squad, after missing the start of the season with a knee injury picked up in pre-season against Dundee.
Brown added: “It’s testament to how good the squad is that no-one has really been talking about Fraser for the last four weeks, because the team has been winning. It shows the people that have come in – Blair Yule has been magnificent in midfield – have quality.
“Fraser brings a massive amount to the team, not just in experience, but pure quality as well. It brings more competitiveness and shows if you’re not working hard, first and foremost, and affecting the game then you’ll be out of the team.”