Wes Brown is determined to see out the rest of his career with Manchester United. Now happily over the nightmare run of injuries which plagued his early days at Old Trafford, Brown is approaching a decade of service at United. With his contract due to expire next summer, the 27-year-old has picked the perfect time to hit top form.
Currently deputising for skipper Gary Neville at right-back, Brown provided the cross for Cristiano Ronaldo's match-winner against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday, capping a performance which Sir Alex Ferguson described as his best of the season so far.
Although Brown knows he will probably lose his place to Neville once his England team-mate fully recovers from the thigh and calf problems which have hampered his comeback from ankle surgery, he remains committed to the Red Devils cause, even though he would be an attractive proposition for most of United's top-flight rivals should he ever decide to move.
``I have always tried my best for the team,'' said Brown. ``I have been here nine years now and I would do anything for the club. ``It is good to know how highly I am valued by the manager. It is certainly hard to imagine ever playing for anyone else. ``Hopefully that won't happen.
I am happy here and hopefully I can stay here.'' With Neville definitely out of tomorrow's showdown with Chelsea, Brown will keep his place at right-back. Like all his team-mates, he was staggered to learn of Jose Mourinho's departure when news filtered through on the flight home from Portugal.
And the Longsight-born defender shares the almost unanimous opinion that Mourinho will be a big loss, not just to Chelsea but the English game as a whole. ``It was a shock,'' said Brown. ``English football is going to miss him because he was a different character who brought a lot to the game here.
``You have to respect what he has achieved and no matter what he moves onto, I am sure he will do well. ``It is certainly a sad day for Chelsea because he will be a big loss to them. ``They really have to get their heads down and get over it but he has won so many trophies for them, I don't believe it will blow over as quickly as that.''
Brown's versatility has been rewarded not only with ever-present status at United this term but also a regular place in Steve McClaren's England squad He won his 13th cap in the friendly defeat to Germany last month and while he did not add to that number in the recent wins over Israel and Russia.
He was among the substitutes on both occasions as England stormed to successive three-goal victories. Brown is the first to admit he still has plenty to learn, especially in relation to his full-back duties. But already he is showing a previously unseen expansive side to his game if not quite in the Cristiano Ronaldo category, then quite eye-catching nonetheless.
``I do have licence to do a few more things but I have not brought anything out for the last seven years, so I have forgotten some of the tricks,'' he smiled. ``Bombing down the touchline is definitely different. ``I am the first to say I can improve in a lot of areas but my crossing is coming on, which is important because it can be a good source of goals.
``But I do like playing at right-back, even if sometimes I still just have defending on my mind, which can be a bit of a problem.'' After four successive single-goal victories, United are in danger of pinching Chelsea's tag as the 1-0 kings. Narrow triumphs are not something Old Trafford has become used to down the years.
And the sequence should not continue for long given the United squad contains such attacking talents as Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Louis Saha. But Brown, along with all his team-mates, would be just delighted if four such wins became five tomorrow. ``We would definitely settle for 1-0,'' he said.
``As a player, there is nothing better than knowing you have come through a really tough, hard game. ``Despite what has happened this week, I still expect Chelsea to be our biggest rivals for the title. ``They have been there for the last three or four years, so while Jose will be a big loss.
Their players know what they have to do and what they are capable of doing. ``So, whether it comes in the sixth minute or the 88th, I would take 1-0 right now.''
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