CIARON: I’M USED TO LONG AWAY DAZE
ROSS CO v LIVINGSTON Marathon trips north no problem for Livi loan star Brown TEAMNEWS
BY ALAN MARSHALL
CIARON BROWN insists a marathon expedition with Cardiff City earlier this season means Livingston’s two daunting journeys north this week will be a doddle.
The Lions face Ross County in Dingwall tonight before returning home and trekking back up the A9 for their Scottish Cup clash with Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday.
The double round-trips of over 300 miles will put a strain on the Almondvale squad as they bid to extend their current run of five straight wins and keep their cup dreams alive.
But on-loan Brown reckons the seven hours he spent on a bus with his parent club going to their league opener back in August will help to put the drives into perspective.
And he reckons the time will fly by with the help of modern technology and some oldfashioned gaming.
Fresh from a long-throw assist in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Motherwell, defender Brown said: “I think the longest journey we had with Cardiff, in terms of time, was Wigan on the first day of the season.
“We decided to get the coach up and it was seven hours because of traffic. I think that was the last time we got coached to an away game!
“To be fair, it was actually alright. You start on your phones and you watch something or you’re doing this or that.
“And then for another hour you might just be talking to someone or for another hour you might be playing cards.
“But once it gets past a certain point you do start feeling it and it’s a case of ‘When are we there? When are we there?’.
“No one enjoys travelling so far but it’s just part of what you have to do.
“I think everybody just accepts that you’re going to have games that are an hour or 20 minutes, and then you’re going to have games that are three or four hours away. It’s just part of the package.
“Some boys do quizzes at the back and then there are other boys just listening to music.
“It depends what you want. If you just want to listen to music you sit at the front, if you want to do a quiz and talk you’re always at the back.
“I’m more middle to the front. I just put my headphones in and watch something on Netflix.
“But long coach journeys are really only enjoyable if you are winning or if you play well.” Brown joined Livingston on loan from Cardiff for the second half of last season and is delighted to be back on familiar ground after repeating the move north last month.
The 22-year-old, whose mum is from Belfast, caught the eye of Northern Ireland head coach Michael O’Neill las time round to earn his first cap in the friendly win over Luxembourg in September.
And, with Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson and
St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright among those tipped to succeed O’Neill, Brown knows he can press his case for future international involvement with game time at Livi.
He added: “Obviously, getting a win and getting my first cap for Northern Ireland, it didn’t sink in straight away. But I’m very proud of it.
“Last season gave me the chance to even be in contention for the Under-21s for Northern Ireland and then I was called into the first-team. Then, obviously, Michael gave me the chance to actually play.
“So, playing games here definitely helps me on the international stage.
“It’s hard to think about who is going to be the next Northern Ireland manager, because you don’t really know who is going to get it.
“But Michael O’Neill is still the manager for the next few games so I just need to keep proving myself and showing that I’m good enough to be in the squad.”