Former boss sings praises of United defender Reynolds

Cowdenbeath have revealed that broadcasting legend Sir David Attenborough is helping the club negotiate the coronavirus crisis after making a donation to the part-timers.

The man behind the hugely popular Blue Planet nature documentary series was only too happy to lend his support to the Blue Brazil by recently handing over a cash gift to Club 135.

Set up in 2016, the initiative set out to raise £135,000 to help the Central Park outfit with cash flow.

Cowdenbeath director David Allan admits Attenborough is the latest in a long list of celebrities to have donated.

He said: “Sir Alex Ferguson has donated in the past, so has Judy Murray and every well known player you can think of.

“I think one of our guys met Sir David at some function and asked him to make a contribution and he was pleased to do so.”

Mark Reynolds has enjoyed an association with Brown stretching back over a decade – and his former gaffer has no doubts about his qualities.

“Mark is a super guy,” said Brown.

“I go back to Motherwell with him. I remember, when he was a young player, he came in to see me and he said: ‘I’ve got five Highers, all ‘A’ grades, and I’ve been accepted for the university, but I want to be a footballer’.

“I said to him: ‘I’ll tell you something, if I was your father I know what I’d be telling you!’

“But look, I ended up advising him to give it a couple of years with Motherwell and see how it panned out, and he ended up getting a smashing move down to Sheffield Wednesday.

“Away he went, but I ended up getting him back on loan at Aberdeen, where he ended up starting a mechanical engineering degree on a part-time basis, which he now has. That tells you something about his character as well as his intellect – and a guy like that will be a huge benefit to have around the Dundee United dressing room.

“He will be so valuable to the manager, especially at a time like this, because the players will respect him.

“Those character traits could be things he trades on in the future, wherever he decides to go.”

In the meantime, Dundee’s clubs are simply trying to get through this crisis the same way many other businesses are.

Players are, in many ways, the same as any other employees. But, as athletes, their needs are different and Brown feels that knowledge will be occupying their managers’ minds.

“I’m guessing, like anyone else, but I’d imagine the season will get finished at some point,” he said.

“So to maintain a level of fitness amongst players is important.”

Sir David Attenborough has helped out Cowdenbeath.