Ennis signing was happy bonus for the Brewers

JAKE Buxton pulled off a surprise when he signed striker Niall Ennis on loan from Wolves on transfer deadline day.

The Burton Albion manager had kept his cards close to his chest but always had it in mind to boost his attacking options, having addressed the defensive frailties with the signing of Sam Hughes on loan from Leicester City.

Ennis was among the players on a long list.

“We were looking for another attacking option and I’d spoken to numerous clubs to ask if they had any under-23 players who would be coming out at the last minute,” said Buxton. “Niall was one who was mentioned.

“A lot of players coming out that late have been in and around the first team squad at Premier League level or in the Championship – or they have had an issue.

“Niall had had an issue with his hamstring at the back end of last season, so he is not fully up to speed. He’s only played 45 minutes this season, so he will probably be a bit of a gradual one. We will have to build him up.

“It will be ideal for us to have someone who can come off the bench and make an impact at first.”

As always, character was high on Buxton’s list of attributes and he spoke to former Burton defender Darren Moore, the Doncaster Rovers manager, who had Ennis on loan last season.

“The conversations I had with Darren Moore and Scott Sellars and Jamie Clapham (at Wolves) were good. They all spoke highly of him as a lad,” said Buxton.

“The phrase ‘works his socks off’ was used by Darren Moore and that pleased me.

“He’s played League One football, scored goals and had assists.

He sounds a good fit and we’ll get him in the building and see where he’s at.”

It appears Portsmouth was another possible destination for Ennis, so Buxton was pleased to win the race for him and add a little more depth to a relatively small and – currently – injury-hit squad.

“There was a lot of interest in him over the summer and he was one we did not think we’d get,” said Buxton.

“We’ve been losing one or two people through injury in games, so we needed some cover.

“Lucas Akins has been playing through an injury and Kane Hemmings could need a breather, as he’s played every game on the spin. Charles Vernam has missed most of the season, so we needed one more.

“Wolves helped towards making it happen so, it’s good for us to try to build that relationship.”