St Johnstone defender James Brown wanted to challenge himself by returning to Scotland several years after a brief spell at Livingston.

The on-loan Millwall right-back recently made his Saints debut against Rangers and is looking to face Celtic on Sunday.

He has already faced the Hoops in the one game he played for Livingston after joining them on loan in August 2018.

Brown played 60 minutes in a 3-1 defeat at Parkhead, but Millwall recalled him after several weeks following the departure of Kenny Miller and with his game time uncertain under new management.

The 23-year-old said: "It wasn't a great experience for myself, but in the long term it was probably one of the best things that happened to me. It sort of showed me the ruthless side of football.

"It was a learning experience and I was younger then. It was a tough game to play in but that gave me a wealth of experience and it was one of the factors in coming back up here and proving a point, more to myself than anyone else.

"So I am glad for it in the long run. Hopefully I can draw on that and the other experiences I have had in football and keep performing well for the club.

"I have matured since then as a person and a player. I came up here then on the back of a good season of playing, but it wasn't quite the right move for me. Three years down the line I feel much more comfortable here."

Brown had gone to Livingston on the back of a successful loan spell with Carlisle, but he is still looking to kick-start his career after three first-team appearances for his parent club.

A move to Perth was an easy decision after fellow full-back Danny McNamara propelled himself into the New Den first team following a loan spell under former Millwall assistant boss Callum Davidson in the first half of the campaign.

However, in the period in between McNamara leaving and Brown being available for selection, Shaun Rooney has firmly established himself in the right wing-back slot.

"When I got the call from the gaffer, he was a massive part of me coming up here," Brown said. "Obviously I worked with him at Millwall and got on well with him there. When he gave me a call it was a no-brainer to come up.

"Initially you want to come up and play games. I personally haven't played as many games as I think I should have in the last couple of years. I want to come up here and help the team push up to the top six and with a cup final on the horizon.

"Obviously coming into a team that's performing well is tough but that's the environment you want to be in.

"I am competing with Shaun but we are different types of players and that's a good option for the gaffer to have. He is dominant in both boxes where I am a footballer and love to defend first. So I can bring a different aspect to that position.

"If we can drive each other to be the best we can be, Shaun has been top class since I have been here, that's healthy. You need that competition."