Lee Brown: Bristol Rovers defender signs new contract

Brown played alongside Bristol Rovers manager Darrell Clarke at Salisbury

Left-back Lee Brown has signed a new deal at Bristol Rovers.

The club have not disclosed the length of the contract given to the 23-year-old defender, who was part of the squad that were relegated from the Football League last season.

He has made 138 appearances for Rovers, scoring 12 goals.

"The fans have been really good to me over the last three years and I thought I had to give something back to them," Brown told BBC Radio Bristol.

"We've had a tough time together and it's something we have to put right."

Brown revealed he had been offered deals by other clubs, but turned them down in order to stay at the Memorial Stadium.

"It was a tough decision. When other people are offering you X, Y and Z and saying 'you can have this if you come here', it's hard to turn that down, especially when financially it's a good package," he said.

"But you've got to show grit and stick to your morals. That's what I had to do."

Brown started his career at QPR, but was loaned to Salisbury in 2009-10 season, where he played alongside Rovers boss Darrell Clarke.

"The manager has got to take a lot of credit for me staying," Brown said of Clarke. "The 300 phone calls I had off him in the last week might have done it.

"The manager knows what he's doing. He's the perfect man for the job. Hopefully we can stick together and kick on."