Weeks of transfer uncertainty led to the move to Middlesbrough he craved finally being confirmed, but that has been followed by a whirlwind week of quickly getting to grips with life on Teesside ahead of tomorrow’s Championship opener against Swansea City.
Brittain is expected to go straight into the Boro starting XI, which has meant the full-back has had an intense week of learning and understanding exactly what boss Rob Edwards wants from him and getting to know his new teammates.
But he’s loved it!
“It’s been a good week,” said the full-back.
“Getting into training, meeting the lads, getting connected before Saturday, learning some of the tactics. It’s been a quick turnaround with the first game coming on Saturday. It’s a lot of information, trying to take it all on board and getting ready for the game now.
“Pre-season has obviously been a bit different this year, spending three quarters of it elsewhere.
“I’ve played three or four games at Blackburn so I feel good physically. Going into the first game only being here a week is not ideal. But, I know the league – I’ve not had to move countries or anything like that – and hopefully I can settle in really quickly.
“It’s always the same, trying to get as fit as possible and this week trying to get to know the lads on and off the pitch has been really important.
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“It’s just building friendships in the changing room then getting to know the lads on the pitches as well,” he says.
“I’ve played against a lot of the boys over the last few seasons so I know what a lot of them are about, but it’s talking to them out there, letting them know what my type of game is and finding out about them.”
Brittain said he felt he was ready to take the “next step” in his career by joining Boro and is relishing what he believes is a “fresh start for everyone” in the dressing room after a summer of change, with Edwards replacing Michael Carrick in the dugout. And’s he’s promised positivity.
“It’s about getting to grips with what the new manager wants to do and being as positive as we can,” he said.
“Finishing 10th last season, we want to build on that. But things take time. The boys will be as positive as we can be going into the new season and expect front foot, attacking football.”
Boro have gone through pre-season playing a back three and wing-backs and are expected to line-up in that shape tomorrow. But Edwards has stressed the need to be tactically flexible and says he’s happy switching between a back three and four.
And Brittain is comfortable playing as both a right-back and a right wing-back.
“I think one of my best attributes is being able to be versatile,” he said.
“I’ve played loads of positions over the last three or four years. I think I even had 30 or 40 appearances at left-back for Blackburn, so I just get on with it. Wing-back I played at Barnsley a lot, and with the high press too.
“In the last few years at Blackburn I’ve played more of a traditional full-back role in a four, so I feel I can do both, but I haven’t done the wing-back for a few years now, so it’s getting used to that again, and also getting used to the boys and getting connected.”
