Clare not worried as Albion prepare to return
SEAN Clare says he is sure there is nothing for Burton Albion to worry about after losing two games in a row.
The midfielder, on loan from Oxford United, scored his first Brewers goal in Tuesday night’s game against Shrewsbury Town but it was not enough as they went down 2-1.
The result meant Burton went into the international break having lost their last two games and gone three without a win – but they are still averaging a healthy two points per game from the 14 played under manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
“Two losses, in the grand scheme of things, is absolutely nothing,” said Clare.
“We don’t need to worry about it and I don’t think the boys are. To be in the position we are now, even from when I first joined, I probably didn’t expect it.
“We need to take everything with a pinch of salt, the wins and the losses. We need to look at the performances and how we can get better because wins will come.
“We’ve shown we can gets wins with this squad and this management so we don’t need to worry about that.
“We need to make sure our performances are right and I think at times (against Shrewsbury) it was, but, overall, the little things didn’t fall in our favour.”
While acknowledging that the Brewers were not at their best against Shrewsbury, who defended in depth after taking an early lead, then broke away to double it early in the second half, Clare felt the game, like many, turned on fine margins.
“The result was disappointing but anyone can win or lose a game at any point and I feel that the boys have put everything into these last few games,” he said.
“They’ve been close. It’s not like we’ve been getting battered, so I think we’re still very much in it, still in touch with how we were playing. It’s just fine margins really.
“We’ve conceded sloppier goals, maybe, than we have before and we’ve not quite put it in but I don’t think there’s any cause to worry.
“We’re still in good shape, we still have a very good squad and we have a massive chance of kicking on after this break.
“Sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you get decisions your way, sometimes you don’t.
“Unfortunately, in the last couple of games, we’ve not quite had them go our way but we’ve had them before, so it will come back around, as long as we keep putting in the work.”
Clare admitted that Shrewsbury deserved to win the game.
“They’re a difficult team to play against. We like to switch the ball and they dealt with that quite well,” he said.
“They’re good at what they do and they showed it. They did well to get the win. If you were just looking at the performances, a draw would probably have been the right result but they took their chances.
“They probably had two chances in the game and they took them. That was the difference and fair play to them. They did it, we didn’t, so they deserved the win.”
Clare’s goal saw him race forward on to an excellent pass from Michael Bostwick, cut into the box from the left and smash a shot into the top corner.
“I’m happy to get off the mark for the team but I would definitely have preferred it in a better situation,” he said.
“I thought we could kick on from that goal and I thought that we did dominate for spells after it but it’s a shame we didn’t quite get that final product, that final spark.
“We’ve shown we can do it against all teams in this division, so we just need to regroup and go again.”
Hasselbaink has said the players were ready for a break, mentally as much as physically, and he was not getting an argument from Clare.
“It’s been very relentless, the schedule. A lot of people have played a lot of minutes and played well but everyone’s human,” he said.
“Everyone needs a little time to regroup, probably to have a bit of time away from the boys, enjoy their families a little bit and then go again with a new hunger that I know everyone in this team has, to keep the team up and not only that, to move up the table.
“I think this has come at a good time. A few of the boys have run themselves into the ground, as you expect, because every player in this squad gives 100% every single game, so it’s normal really.”
Clare moved to Oxford from Hearts in the summer and, having played some games at right-back for the Scottish club, was used in that position by Oxford.
But as manager Karl Robinson and he have admitted, it did not work out and when Hasselbaink asked about taking him on loan, the Dutchman only had in mind restoring him to his original position.
Although he has collected five bookings in 11 appearances for Burton – and six more before that for Oxford – Clare’s energy and aggression in midfield have proved a big factor in the revival of fortunes since January.
“The staff have really put their belief in me, the team have too and it’s a really tight-knit squad,” said Clare.
“I’m enjoying being back in the thick of it. It’s been a joy to be in this team so far and I can only imagine it will get better with the players and staff we have around us and the setup. I can’t see it going down, I can only see it going up.”