IAN Brown will be proud of his Whitton United team whatever the result of tonight’s Suffolk Senior Cup final.

Whitton will start favourites to win the cup when they face fellow Ridgeons League First Division side Long Melford in the final at Portman Road, kick-off 7pm.

The Ipswich-based side will be looking to make it back-to-back victories in the final following their 1-0 win against Lakenheath last season.

Whitton have also reached the final of the Ridgeons League Division One KO Cup and are currently third in the league, although promotion now looks to be beyond them. With just four games remaining they trail both Thetford Town and Godmanchester Rovers, who both have a game in hand, by seven points.

Asked if he would swap winning both cups for a place in next season’s Premier Division, Brown replied: “I just want to win football matches.

“Bearing in mind when I took over three years ago we had no team, no players and no money, the success we have achieved is phenomenal. The first training session I took we had seven or eight players turn up – and three of those were my two sons and me!

“Whatever happens in tonight’s final and whether we win promotion or not, we have been fantastically successful, and I think a lot of clubs would swap what they have done for we have achieved.

“I am immensely proud with how the players have gone about their business when you consider how we were denied promotion (Whitton finished runners-up but failed to complete ground improvements by the due date) last season.

“We have reached two cup finals and are third in the league. We have got players who are technically good enough to play at a higher level, but they choose to play for us because we have a special bond at Whitton United. I will be proud whatever the result tonight.”