Brown sends out a clear message to the Bluebirds
CIARON Brown has sent a bullish message to Cardiff City that he is using his loan spell at Livingston to prove a point to his parent club.
The defender joined Livingston for his second loan spell there in the January window and, on the face of it, it looked like a good move for all parties and that’s certainly how it appears to have panned out.
The 21-year-old, who enjoyed a short stint with the Lions last season, has really grown in stature over the last two months and it is widely acknowledged he has been one of the form players at the Toni Macaroni Arena.
The centre-back, who can also operate on the left, has proven once again he can cut it in senior football, having recently pitted his wits against the best the division has to offer in Livingston’s clash with Celtic.
But, for Brown, there is a far bigger picture.
He sees his long-term future at Cardiff City and wants to use this loan spell to plant himself firmly into Neil Harris’ future plans.
“I think last time round it was the club’s first season after promotion and we didn’t really know what to expect so our aim was just to stay up,” he told the club’s website.
“Whereas this time, the aim is probably still to stay up, but we’ve gone past our expectations and probably now looking to push for top six.
“We’ve set our own expectations and standards higher this time round now that we know what the league is all about.
“Short term, realistically, we want to get top six and push on but when I go back down the road, I want them to see I’ve been playing games, got better and have a bit of experience now and hopefully come pre-season, I’ll be able to find a place in that team and play every week.”
Given the Bluebirds currently have four senior centre-backs on the books -- Sean Morrison, Curtis Nelson, Sol Bamba and Aden Flint -- some might question whether Brown will break into the first-team fray next season.
However, he is thought of very highly not only at City, but at international level, too.
It speaks volumes that Michael O’Neill called him up to the Northern Ireland squad and handed him his first cap against Luxembourg back in August, especially given he had only one senior Cardiff City appearance under his belt.
Brown was also called up to the Northern Ireland squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 play-off against Bosnia-Herzegovina pencilled in for later this month.
Whether that is postponed, however, is another question all together.
City boss Harris, too, spoke extremely highly of him when he left for Livingston in January and hinted that he sees a real future for the player at the club.
“I’m really pleased for Brown to go,” Harris said back in January.
“It’s great for him and I’ve seen enough potential to think he can come back and play a part for us next season.
“I’m really looking forward to coming back and training with us pre-season.
“If he goes out and plays 10, 15, 18 men’s games in the Scottish Premiership would be great for him and for us in the long term.
“That will probably be the ideal scenario for players of his age.”
Brown already has 11 games under his belt during this stint at Livingston, however the league is currently postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus.