Ian Murray wasn’t long in the door at Stark’s Park before he made the signing of Scott Brown one of his priorities.
The midfielder had spent six years at Peterhead when Murray made his move, the last three as captain.
Now 27, Brown started his senior career with Bradford City in 2012 following a move from Clyde before heading to St Johnstone a year later.
He did not feature in the Perth club’s Scottish Cup win in 2014 but did get a taste of European football while there.
After a loan spell in the lower leagues at Dumbarton he joined Jim McInally’s Peterhead squad – full to the brim with big personalities at the time.
Caught up in the ‘full-time bubble’
Speaking this week to Courier Sport, Brown said he values the period he spent as a part-time player in Scotland.
“When you’re in the bubble of full-time and you’re younger you’re so caught up in
‘I need to make this work, I need to make this work’,” he said.
“When I went part-time I realised there was more to life than football.”
A qualified financial adviser, Brown was able to have a focus away from football.
Just as valuable is the experienced he gained as a player during this time.
“Having played around 250 games in the lower leagues you learn a lot more about the games than when you are growing up and playing in the 20s.
“Don’t get me wrong, I played quite a bit for St Johnstone. I played in Europe which was a brilliant experience.
“Hopefully I can learn from that experience – added to the experience from games at a lower level.”
‘Stong and aggressive’
Brown describes himself as box-to-box, as “strong and aggressive” and wants to continue his recent goalscoring form which saw him net nine times last season.
He started at centre-half in the recent friendly versus Kelty Hearts, one of a few other positions he has filled over his career.
While his preference is in the centre of the park he is happy to perform wherever his new manager tells him to.
With other offers on the table, Brown was drawn by the stature of Raith and the lure of working with Murray, whose counter-attacking style of play he admires.
A look at the stats
He should fit into this approach well given his own style – a box-to-box midfielder with an eye for a pass and an eye for goal who will also get stuck in when attacks break down.
According to Wyscout, last season he made the top 30 in League One for total passes and total passes into the final third.
For accurate passes into the final third he was ninth in the division and he attempted the 16th most shots.
Only four players attempted more shots from outside the box than Brown, one of which is fellow summer recruit Dylan Easton, who also referenced the “massive club” factor after signing for Raith.
It led to Brown and Easton, who spent last season at Airdrie, scoring a number of spectacular goals between them.
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