DUMBARTON goalkeeper Mark Brown has revealed he has found very little difference in standards since making the step down to part-time football with the Sons.

Brown has enjoyed an illustrious career spent largely in Scotland’s top flight, including spells at Rangers, Motherwell, Inverness, Celtic, Kilmarnock, Hibs and Ross County.

The 34-year-old believes Dumbarton was the right club for him at this stage of his career after being impressed with manager Stevie Aitken’s vision for the club — turning down contracts at full-time clubs to make the move to the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium.

Since his summer move, Brown has been delighted with the professionalism at Sons as well as the standard of player in the squad. He is convinced the financial difficulties in Scottish football can allow part-time teams like Dumbarton to attract better players in future, as many can make more money by keeping jobs outside football.

He said: “I think maybe in the past there was a big difference in standard between part-time and full-time. But we have players in our squad who could easily go to full-time clubs but they have good jobs away from football, financially it doesn’t make sense for them to go to a full-time club for a one-year contract.

“I think you’ll find in the coming years part-time clubs will be stronger.

“The standard has been great, it all comes from the management team. I’m not naming names but I’ve had managers at full-time clubs that you go in and the place is a shambles with no organisation.

“I think the way the manager has got us set up with training at Benburb’s new pitch and getting us in pre-match, it’s little touches like that which add some professionalism.

“I had the chance to stay full-time but I have being doing it that long. I spoke to the manager and was impressed with what he had to say and his vision for the club.

“I wanted to pursue things beside football. I’ve enjoyed training the two nights, it suits me just now.” Brown has made a solid start to his Sons career, although he might’ve expected to have been busier in the first two league games of the season. The veteran stopper was only forced into six saves in the wins over Hibs and St Mirren.

He saw more action in front of his goal in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Queen of the South, however Brown is convinced the quality in the squad and their opening league results show that Dumbarton’s aims this season should be higher than just avoiding relegation.

He said: “I’ve not really had much to do, you always prefer that to making save after save as that means the team are breaking down the plan we have to stop them.

“I probably had as much to do against Queen’s Park on Tuesday as I did in the first two league games. I think the team is very well organised, they all give 100 per cent, we don’t have any luxury players.

“It is early days but I think we have we should be looking towards mid-table anyway, I think that is the target.

“If you say we just want to avoid relegation, that shows no ambition, I don’t think you want to be that kind of team in this league.”