Having missed half the season recovering from a second ruptured cruciate knee ligament and then finding the pace of the game beyond him when he stepped in for the suspended Rio Ferdinand, Brown accepted Alex Ferguson was probably right when he stated his belief that total rest was required during the close season.

So, although he was a frustrated spectator as England made their quarter-final exit at the hands of Portugal, Brown is now ready to reap his reward.

“The extra bit of rest this summer will definitely help me,” he said.

“I only played the last four months of the Premiership and obviously if I had gone away to the European Championships with the England squad I would not have had as much time off.

“Instead I have been able to get a proper break and that has settled me down even more.”

The 24-year-old faces extra competition for his place this term following the arrival of £6.9m (€10.3m) Argentine Gabriel Heinze from Paris St Germain.

Ferdinand is also due to return on September 20, while the presence of Mikael Silvestre and John O’Shea should also keep the man Ferguson dubbed “the best natural defender he has ever worked with” on his toes.

But Brown is wise enough to know an intense battle for first-team spots should make United a more competitive team.

For the first time in a decade the FA Cup winners will start the campaign as third favourites behind champions Arsenal and a Chelsea side who are again investing heavily under new coach Jose Mourinho.

United face a mouth-watering trip to Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend of the season, although Brown is not concerning himself with the comings and goings in west London.

The Longsight-born star believes if the Red Devils perform to their capabilities, no-one will stop them.

“Obviously Chelsea have made a couple of good signings and that makes the league a lot better,” he said.

“But we have a good team spirit here and we can’t be distracted by them. We will just get on with our game and if we do that, everything will be fine.”