Dennis Brown has broken his silence over his reasons for taking a “back seat” from coaching duties at Somerset Trojans.

The former Somerset and Bermuda captain has revealed he was forced to hand over the reigns of the Premier Division side to his nephew, Danvers Seymour Jr, after being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and other ailments last summer.

“In July I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure so immediately I took a back seat in order to stabilise my personal health,” Brown said.

“Your body talks to you when something is not right and for a few months I had some warning signs like weight loss, loss of appetite and stuff like that I ignored.

“It wasn’t until my wife [Darynda] ordered me to get a physical and I found out that those were the diagnoses. On top of that I had a pinched nerve and a bulging disc in my back so it was a rough August for me.

“I was close to being depressed at certain times. But with the help of my family and close friends they kept me focused to get back to where I needed to be.”

The 57-year-old is adhering to a strick regimen of diet, exercise and rest and has his blood pressure closely monitored daily.

“Type 2 diabetes is definitely treatable and so it’s up to me to stay focused on what I need to do,” Brown said. “The dietitian is very pleased with my progress and wants me to continue on the road that I’m going.

“I am very disciplined in my approach to what I put in my body now. It’s important to remain focused on what I need to do for myself.”

While he has made considerable strides towards regaining full health, Brown is in no hurry to resume coaching Somerset.

“My health is a lot better than what it was in July,” he said. “Everything is stabilised and normal but I’m not going to be rushing back. I have taken a back seat from the frontline but we still have our weekly Zoom meetings between myself, my nephew Danvers Seymour Jr [interim head coach], Mark Trott [assistant] and Larry Smith [director of coaching], who has come back and basically oversees matters.”

Brown, who has won every domestic title as a player and coach, has made a passionate plea to all of the island’s men to take care of their health and undergo annual physical checkups.

“The message I want to send out to all males and even guys who used to be heavy into sports is you must always look out for your health,” he said. “Where I want to kick myself in the backside is for three years I hadn’t been to my doctor for my annual physical, so I tell any male in our society that you must continue your yearly checkups.

“That’s my regret, not going to the doctor on a yearly basis. But now hopefully I’m on the road to recovery and there’s no need to rush back. I have the president’s [Vashun Blanchette] full support and I’m still there from a distance.”

Somerset have got their season off to a promising start and are fresh off of successive victories over North Village in the Dudley Eve Trophy and Devonshire Colts in the league.

“I haven’t had the clearance from my wife to attend a game yet,” Brown said. “But it looks like the team has made a pretty good start.

“We have a very young team sprinkled with a couple of experienced guys and they are doing fairly well. The young players have basically grown from last year and looking forward to being competitive this year.”