Refreshed Brewers ready for fierce test from Accy
JIMMY Floyd Hasselbaink hopes his Burton Albion players are refreshed and keen to get going again after their 10-day break from action.
The Brewers return to their League One relegation battle today facing the inevitable fierce test that is always the case away to Accrington Stanley (3pm).
Albion’s perennial rivals are going into the game stung by a 7-0 defeat away to Peterborough United last week and having lost four games in their last five to dent a potential play-off bid.
They are also in the midst of an injury crisis manager John Coleman has described as the worst he has known in his long career but Accy also go into the game knowing that, with games in hand, the play-offs are by no means out of reach.
Hasselbaink knows what to expect and thinks his players will be ready.
“I hope so, the proof will be in the pudding,” he said.
“I do think we were getting tired. I could see that we needed to rest a few boys, give them a few days off.
“Forget about the body, the mental aspect is very tough and more important.
“You could see that the boys had peaked.
“They had done that really well and maintained it but the number of games was a lot.
“Hopefully, this break, them not playing games and being able to give them time off helps.”
Burton had won six in a row and stretched their unbeaten run to seven with a draw against Blackpool before losing their last two matches 2-1 at home to take the shine off an overall run of 28 from 14 games under Hasselbaink.
“When I was a footballer, I was craving the ball again after a few days off,” said Hasselbaink.
“You want to play again, you miss it. Hopefully, they have that and we can have a very good end to the season.
“It’s always better to go into a break having won. Normally, when you lose, you want to play again quickly to put it right.
“We didn’t have that opportunity but I think how we lost the last two games does not reflect the way we had been playing.
“As much as that was very disappointing, we need to learn from it and take the things we did wrong into the next game and put them right.
“It is what it is and we have to find a way, like all the other clubs. “We have 10 more matches and tomorrow is a big one, like all of the others.”
Given the list of injuries reported by Accrington, it will be hard to predict their line-up today but less so the nature of the game.
“I expect a reaction from them. Knowing the manager, John Coleman, who I respect a lot, I know that he will fire them up and we have to be ready for that,” said Hasselbaink.
“They are very difficult to beat at home. They make it very physical and we have to be up for the task.
“Last time I was here, I came up against him and we lost away.
“They’re not a team of mugs. They are full of men, they know the game in and out and we have to be ready for that battle.”
How we lost the last two games does not reflect the way we had been playing. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink