James Brown says he is back to 100 per cent fitness and ready to take on Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Friday.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets attacking midfielder James Brown says he is back to 100 per cent fitness and ready to take on the table-topping Brisbane Roar in Friday-s Round 11 Hyundai A-League clash at Suncorp Stadium.
Brown made his first starting appearance of the season in the Jets- 1-0 loss to Western Sydney Wanderers at Hunter Stadium last weekend.
With Jets teammate Nathan Burns ruled out of the clash with Brisbane due to a knee injury, Brown appears likely to once again feature in the Jets’ starting XI on Friday.
“It was good to start my first game last week against the Wanderers, but obviously it wasn-t the result we were after, especially at home,” Brown said.
“From a personal point of view I-m just looking to build on that and hopefully I can get another start against Brisbane.
“From the team-s perspective I think we-ll be looking to come away with the three points.”
After getting through 52 minutes of play against the Wanderers, Brown said he was steadily regaining his rhythm and match fitness.
“It-s always nice to get that first start out of the way, now it-s just a matter of getting used to the pace of the game and things like that and that comes with the experience of being out there and getting game time,” Brown explained.
“At times I thought I didn-t do too badly, but in saying that, there-s always things that I can work on.
“It was just nice to get the first start out of the way and it-s always good for the confidence start games, so I-m just looking to build on that.”
After joining the Jets from Gold Coast United before the start 2012/13 Hyundai A-League season, Brown was troubled by an ongoing ankle problem, which twice required surgery.
However, the 23-year-old said he is finally starting to feel like his old self again and is confident his best football is still ahead of him.
“To be honest, it-s been a frustrating stint since I-ve been at Newcastle, just trying to get through the injuries and get fully fit,” Brown said.
“Now I do feel 100 per cent, I feel ready to go and we-ve still got plenty of games left this season, so I-m looking to finish the year strongly.
“I think over the past year-and-a-half I haven-t really done what I know that I-m capable of.
“I don-t want to make excuses, but I feel as if my best football is yet to come.
“I think I-m in the right spot here, we-ve got a good staff, a good bunch of boys and good facilities and everything like that.”
Brown said the Jets were under no illusions about the difficulty of the task facing them in Brisbane, but by the same no token they have no reason to fear the Roar.
“It-s always going to be tough heading up to Suncorp, but I think we took a lot from our last away trip to Melbourne,” Brown said.
“Brisbane are on top for a reason and they-ve got plenty of good players all over the park, but we-ve just got to stick to our game plan and work hard for 90 minutes.
“I think it should be a good game and if all goes to plan I don-t see why we can-t get three points.”
