Mood was lifted by our long-awaited victory says boss Buxton
JAKE Buxton says the mood in the Burton Albion camp was instantly lifted by Tuesday night’s 4-2 win over Charlton Athletic.
After a blank weekend, the Brewers will hope to carry that feelgood factor on to tomorrow night’s away game against Sunderland as they aim to escape the League One danger zone.
Buxton and senior players like John Brayford and Lucas Akins have been keen to point out that the spirit remained strong despite a series of setbacks this season.
But it was inevitable that a first win in 15 matches would boost that spirit in a way that was needed.
“I woke up on Wednesday morning in a better mood than after previous games!” said Buxton.
“You could tell in training that the confidence was coming back into the group. It was nice and bright with a lot of smiles on faces. We’d been on a tough run and Tuesday night’s result was much needed.
“In all the games we’ve had periods within the game where we’ve looked like we are just starting to play and get into a groove.
“On Tuesday night, it was for a longer, sustained period and we performed to the level that was required.
“We would have liked to have backed it up with another good performance on Saturday but we have been going Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday so it was also a much-needed rest.
“It has been relentless. It was also nice to get a breather.”
The Charlton result followed the first time Buxton has felt the need to rail at his players for their efforts and he was pleased with the response.
“A few home truths were spoken after the Northampton game and I let a few players know what I thought,” he said.
“We dusted ourselves down, picked things up on Monday and then it was down to the players to carry out what we wanted them to do and on Tuesday they carried it out just as we had asked.
“I had to make some tough decisions and leave people out and the lads who came in and came off the bench responded well.”
Neal Eardley, Reece Hutchinson and Indiana Vassilev were left out of the 18, while Jack Roles continues to miss out. Kane Hemmings missed out with a quad injury.
Eardley, the regular right-back, was the most notable absentees.
“It’s the first time I have had to speak to people about having a rest and being out of the squad and that shows where we have been in terms of Covid and our injury list,” added Buxton.
“Tuesday was the first time we had a fit squad, apart from Kane, a near full choice of players, and the outcome is that we won a game of football.”