Hunger to succeed is key - Sam
NEW Shrewsbury Town boss Sam Ricketts says his management staff are “hungry for success” in League One.
Ricketts’ first EFL game as a manager will come at the Pirelli Stadium today (3pm), as Burton Albion host the in-form Shrews.
A 2-1 Checkatrade Trophy victory over Walsall on Wednesday made it six wins from their last seven matches for the New Meadow side, with an impressive run in the League meaning they sit one place above the Brewers.
Back-to-back defeats at the end of November have left Albion needing to provide a response on home soil today, with 18 points available over the next four weeks.
Shrewsbury, meanwhile, are looking to maintain the “buzz” of recent weeks - and Ricketts says that is true for the management as well as the players.
“Of course there is a buzz,” he told the Shropshire Star.
“What we have at the club is a real good camaraderie between the players and also the staff as well.
“I feel like we’re a young group of staff, which I like, because it’s like, ‘come on - we’ll take everyone on’.
“We’re young but we’re enthusiastic and eager to learn.
“Are we going to get everything right? No, of course we’re not, no-one does, but you learn from your mistakes and we go again.
“We’re hungry for success, just like the players are.
“The players are hungry to do well and that’s the biggest thing - hunger.” BEFORE the season had even begun, Nigel Clough stressed how important it would be for Burton Albion’s defenders to stay fit in 2018-19.
Tom Naylor had left to join Portsmouth and Tom Flanagan signed for Sunderland after being transferlisted at the Pirelli Stadium over the summer, leaving the Brewers with only five senior defenders at the start of the campaign.
Kyle McFadzean, Jake Buxton, Ben Turner, Damien McCrory and John Brayford made up that quintet, with left-back Reece Hutchinson in his first year as a professional and the versatile Lucas Akins providing further defensive cover.
Clough’s plan has not entirely worked out.
Buxton, McCrory and Hutchinson had spells on the sidelines earlier in the campaign, while a calf injury has kept Turner out of action since the 3-2 win at Plymouth Argyle on October 20.
It has not been the case for every defender, though.
Barring a three-game spell in early September, Brayford has been a staple of Burton’s back line, moving across from right-back to centre-half during Turner’s absence. He has made 21 appearances so far this campaign.
The 30-year-old has struggled with knee problems in the past and had lay-offs with calf and hamstring injuries last season.
But with his own bespoke, weekly training schedule, the former Derby County man believes he is in better shape now than when he signed for Albion on a season-long loan deal at the start of the 2016-17 Championship campaign.
“It’s probably training on a Monday after a game, then I’ll do all my leg sessions on a Tuesday, train on a Wednesday, we have Thursday off, then we do our usual Friday thing and then into the game,” said Brayford when asked what an average week of training looked like.
“That’s what I’ve done for a couple of years really - it’s just how it suits me best.
“I love training, especially the sessions the gaffer puts on, with the competitiveness of it, we have fivea-side tournaments and stuff.
“I love being out there, it’s just I know I have to do other things as well on the gym side.
“My body is in pretty good shape, especially compared to when I first joined on loan and I was struggling with my knee when I came from Sheffield United.
“I’ve got to this stage, Chris Beardsley (Albion’s Sport Scientist) has helped me with a programme. John Brayford “It suits me down to the ground, really.” Brayford and Burton are heading into a hectic run of fixtures over the Christmas period, with
I love training, especially the sessions the gaffer puts on, with the competitiveness of it, we have five-a-side tournaments and stuff