Browne aims to keep starting place

The big centre-back, who was last season’s Supporters’ Player of the Year, struggled to get into the side this year, however since John Curran’s injury, he has started to build an understanding alongside Paddy McLaughlin.

“My plan now is to continue to work hard and hopefully do all the right things on the pitch that makes Keeso (Paul Kee) not want to change the defence so that I can stay in the team for the rest of the season,” declared Browne.

“If my performances keep improving and to be honest I feel I’m just gradually getting back to where I was at, towards the end of last season.

“It was hard at the start of this season being in and out but now that I’m in, I intend to stay in the side.

“I think the last couple of games the defence has been very good, to be honest the defence in general has been very good, but hopefully now that I’m in I can start making a good partnership with me and Paddy (McLaughlin).”

With the Craig Memorial Cup Final against Tobermore United next up for the Waterside men, they go into the tie on the back of two victories but more importantly for Browne they have kept clean-sheets in those games against Limavady United and Banbridge Town.

“It’s good that we have kept two clean-sheets and hopefully there are more to come, because we are in a cup final on Boxing Day at Tobermore and it’s good for the club,” explained the former Oxford United man.

“After the cup final, we have Limavady United again in the league on New Year’s Eve, so we have a couple of big games coming up and I fancy us to go on a wee run again and pick up wins and that’s what everyone in the dressing room is aiming for.”

The 24-year-old is also relishing next month’s JJB Sports Irish Cup tie against Donegal Celtic and although he hasn’t played against the Belfast men, he knows some of his team-mates owe the Premiership side one.

“We definitely owe them one, although it was before I joined ’Stute I know Donegal Celtic were the side, that sent us down to the First Division by beating us in the play-off.

“Everyone at the club is really looking forward to the tie already, I was talking to a fan and he said that we owe them one.

“To be honest I think we have a good chance of winning the game, because as we have seen already this season whenever we played Coleraine, who are also a Premiership team, we beat them and if a team comes to try and play football against us I think we can manage anybody and if they want to come and try to bully us physically then I feel we can deal with that as well.

“It’s a good draw for us, especially being at home and it’s a good chance for us to get into the next round, but that Irish Cup game is still a few weeks away yet and we have quite a few big games before it, so we’ll only start concentrating on Donegal Celtic the week leading up to the tie.”