DANNY Brown says he is happy to have returned to Basingstoke Town "to play for a manager who wants me" after being told he had no future at Billericay.

The 20-year-old ex-Wycombe centre-back was a surprise inclusion in the Town line-up at Carshalton, where he enjoyed a top defensive display in the 2-1 win, having left the Camrose earlier this season to try to earn a full-time deal with more money elsewhere.

He eventually settled with Ryman premier side Billericay - as he lives in Essex - after unsuccessful trials at Grays and Exeter, but was still also duel-registered with Basingstoke Town as secretary Richard Trodd didn't cancel the registration because Brown was with a club outside the Nationwide Conference South.

Town's new manager Francis Vines was aware of this fact and called Brown to try to get him to return to the club and bolster the defence, especially in Mark Paterson's ongoing absence with a hamstring injury.

Vines revealed: "I tried to get him back for my first game in charge, against Yeading, but couldn't, so to get him back now after trying again and succeeding has been a bonus."

Talking about his return, the chastened Brown admitted: "It doesn't always pay to chase the money.

"I was on very good money at Billericay but wasn't enjoying it and the manager Matt Jones told me he didn't rate me.

"You have to play for a boss who backs you, so I knew I had to leave as I wasn't in his plans, and the Ryman level of football is not as good.

"So when Francis called me again, I was happy to come back to Basingstoke. He seems to be a good guy, so I'll be looking to play as well as I can until the end of the season. Then we can start again."

Meanwhile, Justyn McKay will not play for Town again this season due to the ongoing complications with his foot injury.

The ex-Swindon Town youngster is having a scan and is seeing a consultant this week to determine the extent of the damage.

He said: "It is frustrating because it's gone on for a few months now. Hopefully this scan will find out exactly what is wrong.

"So I won't be playing again this season, which is annoying because I will not have had the chance to show Francis what I can do. I knew with Ernie in charge I could come back in the summer, but now he's not, I'm not sure if Francis will ask me back."

First published: Thursday, April 20, 2006