WITH York City manager Martin Gray looking to build a squad of “horrible” players next season, out-of-contract right-back Connor Brown feels he fits the bill.

But the aggressive defender has argued that any suggestion his disciplinary record and tough-tackling reputation make him a possible on-pitch liability are wide of the mark.

Brown, 25, has been shown 16 yellow cards this season, but has reasoned that the fact that none of those cautions has led to a dismissal and that he has only been sent off once in his career during a 1-0 defeat for Oldham at Bradford in January 2016, illustrates that he can be trusted to keep his emotions under control.

He was replaced at Gainsborough this month after getting booked as manager Martin Gray decided to make a change with home supporters baying for a red card as Brown had earlier been involved in the challenge that saw the Northolme outfit’s left-back Brandon Fleming given his marching orders.

But Brown believes he can be unfairly targeted by officials and pointed out: “A big part of my game is playing on the edge, but I’ve never been shown two yellow cards in a match.

“I’ve had one straight red card and that was appealed against because it was very harsh, so my record isn’t bad over about 200 games. I often get a yellow card for my first foul in a game, which was the case at Gainsborough and I think referees sometimes talk to each other and maybe they say ‘watch out for Connor Brown, because he’s a niggly character’.

“But, once I do get a yellow card, I know the situation I’m in and keep everything in check.”

Brown is one of 11 City players who will be out of contract this summer.

Having spent 16 months as a part-time player with Guiseley in the National League before joining the Minstermen in mid-January, he is now hoping to carry on as a professional but has a career outside of the game to fall back on if necessary.

“I’ll talk to the gaffer and see if he wants me in his plans,” Brown said of his future. “If he does, we’ll sit down and talk and, if he doesn’t, I’ll have to go elsewhere.

“Being without a club over the summer is part and parcel of football lower down the leagues. You don’t get many long contracts but, hopefully, I’ve given the gaffer something to look at.

“My contract here finishes in June and, if I don’t get another one, I’ll see what else is out there. If there isn’t anything full-time, then I’ll go back to doing landscaping.

“I didn’t mind doing that really, but I would rather play full-time. When I went part-time with Guiseley last season, it was the first time since being a 16-year-old scholar at Oldham that I hadn’t been full-time.

“It had come to the end of August and, having a kid, I had to go that way and Guiseley was somewhere local where I could get some games under my belt.”

If he does make Gray’s retained list, Brown also has no problem with the intense pressure that will be on the club again to secure promotion in 2018/19, adding: “When I signed for Guiseley, they only had three points at the end of September but we stayed up, so I don’t mind a challenge.”

Brown’s record as a City player is not the best, though, tasting victory just once during his three-month spell – the 1-0 February home triumph over champions Salford.

Otherwise, the team have managed just four points from a possible 27 during nine further outings and Brown declared: “I’ve been satisfied with how I’ve done, although I’m a bit disappointed and very frustrated that, when I’ve played, we haven’t got too many results and I’d prefer it if I was playing rubbish, but we were winning.

“We were up near the top of the table when I came here and I thought we’d kick on, but it’s not worked out that way. We’ve had a lot of injuries up front and, losing somebody like Jon Parkin will always affect you a lot, but we’ve also conceded some ridiculous goals and had some bad luck.”

Given his personal record, Brown is now determined to finish the campaign on a winning note, even if Saturday's trip to Brackley will be a dead rubber should Spennymoor defeat bottom-of-the-table North Ferriby tonight.

“We still want to finish as high as possible,” he explained. “Every player goes out wanting to win any game - you never go out aiming to lose.”