James Brown could have stayed at St Johnstone and sulked for the rest of the season.
Instead, he is relishing the challenge of trying to finish the campaign on a high as ‘part of something special’ with Raith Rovers.
The defender has a cup double to his name with Saints from 2021/22 but was deemed surplus to requirements by new boss Craig Levein.
With his contract at McDiarmid Park expiring in the summer, Brown has accepted his spell in Perth is coming to an end.
However, rather than finish with a whimper, the 26-year-old is thrilled his loan move to Raith has given him the rare chance to fight for a title and a dream promotion back to the Premiership.
“I’d assume that’s the end of my time at St Johnstone,” he said.
“We’ve not had a conversation but if you get sent out with six months to go you’re probably not in their plans.
“That’s pretty obvious. That’s football.
“I could either have sat there and sulked about it or got myself out there and try to play games and try to be part of something special here.
“Hopefully that’s what I can do at Raith.
“Managers come and go, and normally they decide whether you’re wanted at the club.
“It’s probably down to one person’s decision. That’s just part and parcel of being a footballer.
“Obviously, the manager went in there and told me I could leave, which is one of those things.
“I wanted to get out and play, and obviously Raith represented a great opportunity to come and do that.
“And, also, fighting at the right end of the table, without being disrespectful, is a different challenge to what I’ve been used to for the last few years. So, that appealed to me.”
Only signed seven days previously, and without an appearance for Saints in 2024, Brown was plunged straight into last Friday’s crunch top-of-the-table clash with Dundee United.
The dramatic 2-1 victory, courtesy of Scott Brown’s stunning late winner, has hauled Raith back to within just a point of the Tangerines at the top of the Championship.
It was the ideal way for Brown to kick off his Stark’s Park stint.
But – with a tricky trip to face Ayr United on Saturday followed by games against Morton and then Arbroath in three-game spell in just six days – Rovers are fully aware they need to back it up.
Brown added: “It took me a while to get going. It’s been probably a couple of months since I played.
“But I would rather get chucked into a game like that. It’s sink or swim, isn’t it?
“I loved it. It was just nice to be back playing, more than anything, and the result went our way, which helps. I can’t complain on that front.
“Hopefully we can continue to build on that and get a run going.”
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