Britton arrived in Swansea at the height of the battle to stay in the football league. And it was another battle that allowed him to stay as the Supporters Trust launched a "Battle For Britton" fund that saw buckets being passed around the Vetch to cover the midfielder's wages.
And since those days the club, or the player, have never really looked back and now, just five years later, Leon hopes for a Championship start today although the smart money at the moment seems to be on a place on the bench for the opening fixture at Charlton.
But that aside, Britton will play a key part this season and he acknowledges that and knows that he couldn't imagine playing anywhere else. It is also far away from moments under Kenny Jackett when he has admitted that he thought he may have to move but not any more for the Swans number 7.
Speaking in today's Western Mail, Britton says “I didn’t think we’d see that happening at the Liberty
“That’s where the club were at the time and it was quite a big thing to think that the supporters thought so much of me.
“I remember people saying they thought I could play at a higher level back then, well this is the chance for me to prove those people right.
“They believed in me and my opportunity to show it starts at Charlton because I believe in myself that I can.
“We have to be ourselves, and that could well be the hardest battle for us. We’re coming up against big clubs, big names, big players, but we’re all on the same pitch and we’re in the same division.
“As players, when it comes to these tests, we want to do ourselves justice.
“And we know we can do it. We’ve watched a lot of Championship games just from staying in hotels on Friday nights before games and switching on Sky.
“It’s a good standard, but it’s a standard we can match with the quality in this squad.
“You hear it all the time, players going down the leagues from big clubs as kids to try and make their way back, but it not happening for them and then they pitter out of football
“It could have easily happened to me. To a certain extent when I came here I was thinking get some first-team football behind me and you never know who might come in for you. No-one wants to spend the rest of his career in League Two.
“But I knew the club had ambition, you could see things happening after we stayed up and I’ve worked hard too.
“I’ve kept my head down in bad times and I like to think I’ve improved, I’ve certainly tried to along the way.
“We’ve both got here now and I don’t think anything would give me greater joy than running out at the Valley with Swansea in the Championship because that seemed a long way off for both of us when I joined.
“It feels like I’ve come through the ranks here, like I was a youth player here and I certainly think of Swansea as my team.
“I don’t think I can imagine myself playing in another shirt.”
This article first appeared on JACKARMY.net.