When we first signed him, I thought he was poor, to be truthful. A Rovers reject with a dodgy injury record, I wondered what Sheridan had seen in him and he didn't do much from January onwards to change my mind.
However, he clearly worked hard in pre-season. He came back fit, strong and with a great attitude. He didn't complain about being sat on the bench and as soon as he got his shot, he grabbed it.
As target men go, I've rarely seen one who has the work rate that Brunty had. He may not have been the most skillful in terms of technique but he was strong in the air, good at bringing others into play and was a real nuisance for defenders.
Not only that but he cropped up with some MASSIVE goals and contributed to more game-winning moments that anyone last season. Big players step up in big moments and he did that time & time again.
I'm disappointed he hasn't been given pre-season to prove himself like Lecointe was. He is still young in football terms and had a lot to give. I still believe, probably naively, that had he have not suffered his injury, we would have got promotion last year.
He's not a 'Cult Hero' as such, not in the same way David Friio and Paul Wotton were, but a bit like Craig Tanner this year also, he is an extremely endearing character that worked very hard to be successful and contribute during his time here.
Whilst League One is a step up, the gulf in quality is not that vast and we could do a lot worse than a fit & firing Brunt being part of the squad in any way.