Maamria: We’ll look to kick on after this long break
FRUSTRATED BREWERS AIM FOR RESTART ON SATURDAY
DINO Maamria says the enforced break will see Burton Albion press the reset button ahead of the second half of the League One season.
The Brewers were scheduled to play tonight at home to Bolton Wanderers but a combination of injuries and Covid cases in the Bolton camp have caused a postponement.
Now they are relatively confident Saturday’s home game against Crewe Alexandra will be played – not least because Crewe are due in action tonight, away to Morecambe. Of tonight’s full League One programme, the only other games which had been postponed by last night were Charlton Athletic v Gillingham and MK Dons v Cheltenham Town.
Burton have had three successive games called off and have not now played since losing 3-1 to Rotherham United on December 11.
“We were really disappointed that the game against Bolton was called off so late. We were ready for the game,” said Maamria.
“It was especially a frustration for me! I had been watching their last three or four games, putting a game plan together.
“You do all that work and then get told it’s off but it is what it is. You can’t control those things and we always try to be pragmatic about these situations and just focus on what we can control.”
While they had their own Covid cases in the camp, a majority of Burton’s squad were in training before Christmas and have been back at St George’s Park since.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks but in a situation like that you’ve got to look at it with a wider vision,” said Maamria.
“Some of our lads needed a rest, some had Covid and had to have a rest. But it was time well spent with family.
“Now it’s almost a reset. Before Christmas, we came back for a couple of days and we got back together earlier this week.
“We had a chat and it was about kicking on in the second part of the season.
“We’ve been quite inconsistent but our position in the league is in our hands. We’re 11 points from the top six and eight points from the bottom four.
“It’s our choice as a team where we get to at the end of the season and I certainly feel we can go on and have a great finish to the season and be where we want to be.
“We’ve discussed what we want to do and everyone is on board with it.
“The big thing with something like this is the focus of the group. It’s been like a mid-season break but we have to make sure that we take
It’s been a tough couple of weeks but you have to look at it with a wider vision.
Dino Maamria
advantage of that, with one or two players getting back to fitness and us all ready to kick on as a group.
“Now the focus moves on to Crewe. Everyone is OK. The club has been great in terms of following the protocols and we had a few cases but now we have a team ready to go,” said Maamria.
“We got told in the middle of the session (on Monday) that the Bolton game was off, so we modified training slightly. All the preparation was for Bolton.”
Crewe are still bottom of League One, having briefly climbed to sec
ond bottom a fortnight ago, but two of their three wins have come in the last five matches – their first win, in September, was against a Burton side who fell short of their potential in a 2-0 reverse at Gresty Road.
“We will be ready for Crewe on Saturday and we know it won’t be down to us,” said Maamria.
“If Crewe have cases in their camp, that could get called off too but I don’t think that’s the case.
“From what we’re hearing, Crewe’s team are ready as well and we feel certain the game will go ahead.”