Buxton: Errors at core of Swindon setback
JAKE Buxton and his Burton Albion players have thrashed out what went wrong against Swindon Town last week and concluded that it came down to individual errors.
There was a feeling at the time that Swindon had done better than most other teams so far at stifling the Brewers as the Robins cruised to a 3-0 lead in 35 minutes and a 4-2 win.
But Albion manager Buxton does not think Swindon were especially good – more that too many of his team had an off day.
There was also another goal from a set-piece – an unchallenged closerange header from defender Mathieu Baudry – and there have already been too many of those against Burton this season.
“We conceded from a set-piece again, which is something we’ve been trying to work on again this week to try to put right what’s been wrong,” said Buxton, whose side are at home to Portsmouth today (3pm).
“But the goals were self-inflicted, down to individual errors. We’ve spoken about it, been through the video and tried to find a solution.
“There are areas we can improve on without the ball but, in the end, it was down to errors.
“It’s tough. I’ve always said I’d be accountable for everything we do as a team. I’ve asked the questions. Are we doing things smoothly, are things correct, are we doing what we believe in?
“The players are telling me, yes, everything’s fine.
“It still hurts, when you lose a game. You look at yourself first – how can you improve as a coach or manager – but, ultimately, when the players go out on the pitch, they have some decisions to make.
“Sometimes they make good ones and sometimes they make bad ones. Performances have generally been good – but we had a blip at Swindon.”
A feature of the game at the County Ground was the way in which the Brewers struggled with playing the ball out from defence.
All too often, they were moving the ball across their back four and running out of options as Swindon pressed them.
Accrington Stanley tried to do the same the previous week and Burton handled it better. Against Swindon, they were harried into mistakes.
“I think we were brave against Accrington and found a way to play through or over them,” said Buxton. “We found a solution, we were comfortable on the ball and when it found its way to the front three it stuck and gave us a platform to play. “I think the way it was played through from the back and midfield against Accrington was better. We were sloppier against Swindon, they recognised that and pressed us.” While Buxton will not be changing the way his side plays, he also points out that nothing is set in stone when they have the ball. “We are not play at all costs, we must not take risks if they’re pressing us in high numbers,” he said.
“If we have to go long, play percentages and pick up the second balls higher up the pitch, we will.
“It was OK to carry on playing against Swindon, they didn’t come after us in great numbers. It was the lack of quality from us – but, hopefully, it’s a one-off. “Sometimes, you might get two or three of us off it, this time there were six or seven, maybe more. To have 60-odd per cent possession and be
There are areas we can improve on without the ball but, in the end, it was down to errors.
Burton manager Jake Buxton
as poor as we were was disappointing. We didn’t pass it cleanly and our control wasn’t as good as it has been.”
Buxton revealed that Swindon manager Richie Wellens had been complimentary about the Brewers but that was little consolation.
“Richie spoke very highly of us but, of course, it’s quite easy to do that when you’ve won!” he said.
“I thought we were under par with our passing and control of the game but he was complimentary.
“We have to be harder to beat. We might have off days, days when we can’t pass it well and we can’t play the football we’d like but we still have to be hard to beat.”