THE next few months are bound to bring a few sleepless nights for many of the athletes ahead of the home Games.

But one man guaranteed to be a little bleary eyed is Scottish champion boxer Aston Brown.

The 22-year-old, born and bred in Govan, is set to become a dad for the first time just months before he will compete for the top spot at Glasgow 2014.

But, with the flat he shares with fiancee Linzi McLaughlin a mere stone's throw from the SECC, the venue chosen to host the boxing competitions this summer, he is determined to take it all in his stride.

And, if he gets that longed-for medal, he will dedicate it to Linzi.

"All my family are all very supportive and my fiancee is the big support." says Aston.

"I have been with my fiancee since I was 14. We have got a baby on the way and plan to get married next year.

"She's been a massive support - when I need to get up for the runs in the morning, she says 'if you want to win that gold medal, if you want to be world champion, you need to do it'.

"She's the one that drives me to be successful so a big part of it is for her."

Aston, who attended Trinity High School in Renfrew, took up boxing at the age of 10, following his brother to attend The Noble Art club in Govan.

In 2006, he watched the team head to Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games, and was inspired to work towards his Games debut four years later.

He made the team for Delhi 2010, where he shocked everyone by making the quarter finals.

"I took all the experience from that and put it in a locker and this time I am looking to go to the Commonwealth Games and win a gold medal.

"In Glasgow, it's going to be across the road in the SECC. I'm from Govan, this is my town, so why should I not win a gold medal, that's the way I look at it.

"I have trained all these years, it's been a long time, but if there is going to be any time I can do it, it is going to be now."

This year Aston, who trains with the GB Olympics squad, moved up a weight category to compete among the middle weights and is currently ranked 32 in the world. Last year he was crowned Scottish Champion but lost out on this year's title at the final in the Emirates Arena last month.

He will find out if he has made the Team Scotland selection for Glasgow 2014 at the end of the month, near to the time when Linzi is due to give birth.

Between now and the Games he will travel with the team to training camps in Portugal and Australia while juggling his new fatherly responsibilities.

But, that gold medal is in his sights and he is determined to bring it home.

He said: "I'm looking forward to it. The Commonwealth Games is probably the biggest thing apart from the Olympics - it's televised, it's a massive sporting occasion so I can't wait. It's going to be brilliant.

"When I went to Delhi, you got a great reception from the crowd when you came out to box so I can't imagine what its going to be like here in Glasgow when you walk out. It's going to be electric, people are going to go mental. That's what I like, I like the crowd, I feed off it. I don't feel the pressure.

AS long as I'm standing on the top of that podium at number one, everybody's happy.

"I want to do it for Boxing Scotland, I want to do it for the GB team, I have trained all my life for this so it is something I really want to give back to the sport.

"I just fell short in Delhi but I was only young so I knew I could come back, but this time I want to get the gold medal."

And Aston backs the Evening Times Active 2014 campaign.

He said: "It is important to take the small steps towards getting active because you never know what could lead to something else. I never thought when I was in school that I would be in this position now going to the Commonwealth Games or trying to go to the Olympics in a couple of years.

"I was still just a kid like everyone else who loved to do PE. But just taking those small steps can lead to such big things."

matty.sutton@eveningtimes.co.uk