Brown wasn't given chance at Hearts - now he's delighted with new dawn at Livingston

RETRIBUTION is not really something Jonathan Brown would normally seek. He is philosophical about leaving Hearts after six years and pragmatic over his future since signing a one-year contract with Livingston. That mature outlook won't stop him striving to prove a point at Almondvale on Saturday, though, when his new club meets his old one.

Brown, 21, believes a friendly encounter with Hearts in only his second outing since joining Livingston permanently provides ample opportunity to force humble pie down a few throats. He considered himself capable of surviving in the SPL but was denied the opportunity at Tynecastle, the role of unused substitute being the closest he got to a senior appearance.

He isn't bitter. When informed his first-team prospects were slim at the end of last season, he jumped at a move to West Lothian, where he earned a Third Division winner's medal with Livingston in 2010 whilst on loan from Hearts. A void has since appeared in his favoured right-back berth at Tynecastle due to the Craig Thomson scandal and Jason Thomson joining Dunfermline on loan. Brown, though, is purely focused on Livingston, starting this weekend against some familiar faces.

"It's been on my mind since I signed, I've been looking forward to this game," he told the Evening News. "I want to show a few people what I can do and prove a few people wrong at Hearts. I know a lot of the Hearts boys and what they are about but it would be good to try and prove a lot of people wrong, prove that I am a good enough player and show everyone at Hearts what I'm capable of. I'll be trying my best.

"It's a great opportunity for me play in the First Division again. I got a phonecall from the gaffer, Gary Bollan, about two weeks before Livingston went back for pre-season. He just asked what I was up to and what my situation was. That was the start of it and I was ready to commit to Livingston by then.

"I'd always known deep down I was likely to leave Hearts. I wasn't told that but when you're not involved and you get put out on loan for two years, you know what's coming. At 21-years-old you need to be playing first-team football and when you're not doing that you know deep down you aren't going to be involved."

Brown joined Hearts aged 15 from Edinburgh's Hutchison Vale Boys' Club and progressed through the Riccarton youth academy. He played regularly at under-15, under-17 and under-19 level but became a prime example of why reserve football is essential to prevent the careers of young players stagnating during the transition from youth to senior squad. He spent the 2009/10 campaign on loan at Almondvale and the second half of last season farmed out to Stirling Albion. The writing was on the wall.

"It was frustrating at times seeing so many managers come and go at Hearts," he continued. "When I went out on loan I tried to do my best. Obviously, what Hearts saw, they didn't like. There wasn't much I could do about that apart from work hard and try to play to the best of my ability.

"I went in to Hearts, they would say I was going out on loan and that's when you know you're not going to be involved. That was pretty much the case under the last two managers. Jim Jefferies sat me down and said I wasn't going to play because there were a lot of right-backs at the club. I need first-team football and he said he couldn't promise me that, which is fair enough.

"Darren Murray, the youth coach, was a good influence on me and tried to push me on. I wouldn't have done much differently. There was a lot of change and having to get a different opinion from each different gaffer didn't help, but that's just the way football works."

Living in Leith meant little upheaval for Brown to join Livingston. He can even share journeys with three team-mates who also live in Edinburgh. Bollan has secured himself the services of a versatile defender who is comfortable in both full-back roles and who earned international honours with Scotland at under 16, under-17 and under-19 level. He also has the benefit of familiarity with the club due to that previous loan period.

"What was happening to me happens to thousands of boys all over the world. It's all about how you react to it. I want to come out of that frustration now and play first-team football at Livingston. That's what I'm concentrating on," said Brown.

"There's a good balance in the Livingston squad because there is experience there but there are a lot of good young players too. It's a small squad but one that is capable of doing well in the First Division. All I can think about is playing for Livingston.

"Hearts is in the past now. I appreciate what they did for me but now I need to move on, press forward with Livingston and hopefully get back playing in the SPL. As a footballer, you always want to challenge yourself to play at the highest level. The SPL is a league you want to play in.

"I've experienced being on the bench and being around SPL players. I would love to do it with Livingston and I think the First Division is going to be quite an open league this year. Livingston is a club I was at before and won a title, it's a brilliant place to play football and all the boys are superb. I'd love to get promotion here."

He won't hold a grudge against Hearts but Brown's motivation to get back alongside his former club at the top level is already driving his career forward in West Lothian.