DAN Brown agreed to stay on as Billericay Town boss after being encouraged by the reaction of his players during his interim spell in charge.

Brown took control for the final fortnight of last season but was unable to stop Town being relegated from National League South.

And he is now determined to help Billericay get back on track to build on the progress he feels has already been made.

“In the periods I’ve done the job we’ve managed to get a quick turnaround,” said Brown.

“We’ve managed to get a reaction and we’ve seen a change in the group.

“But a lot of it is curiosity too.

“If I can get a group together, do pre-season and get a group to match my demands, work-rate, ethic and style of play it will be interesting to see what the outcome is going to be.

“Having discussions with the owners it was a decision that, within reason, became made for me due to the outcomes of the previous stints.”

Billericay will be lining up in the Isthmian Premier League next season.

And Brown cannot wait to get stuck into the role.

“Now it’s confirmed I’ve got a lot of discussions to have and ideally I’d like to get the core of my work done early,” said Brown.

“I’m adamant the boys have got to work in a summer camp because I want a level of fitness before we even start pre-season.

“It would help if I could get a lot of the stuff done now.

“I was able to cram so much into what, in theory, was about two weeks at the end of the season and that played a big part in this decision.

“But it’s a culmination of things really.”

Brown had previously been in charge of the under 23 side at New Lodge.

And he is keen to ensure youngsters are given the opportunities to impress with the first team.

“There’s definitely a pathway and there’s definitely avenues to be explored with some of these players,” said Brown.

“But what the first team do the 23s will do and what the 23s will do the first team will do which I think is important.”

And Brown has also moved quickly to sort out his backroom team.

“I’ve got the mad man Ash (Goss) with me,” said Brown.

“We brought him to the club and he was here to shadow me.

“He’s full of energy and a ball of joy around the place.

“He takes a lot of the work off me and injects energy into the group. too.

“But to balance that out because I can be aggressive and he can be hyperactive we’ve got Lawrie (Wilson) who is calm and collected.

“He will cover a lot of different job roles too.

“He will be a squad player, a coach, assistant manager and him as Ash will continue with the 23s as well.”