Gills ‘should have been moved’

BURTON Albion should have tried to move their League One clash with Gillingham to Sunday, manager Nigel Clough has conceded.

The Brewers return to League action at home to the Gills tomorrow (3pm) after Wednesday’s 9-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first leg humbling at the hands of Manchester City.

The date for that tie was confirmed last month.

And with his players having to recover quickly from a difficult evening at the hands of the City to be ready for the visit of Gillingham, Clough knows the turnaround is a tough one for his players.

“We’ve slipped up a little bit,” he said.

“Because as soon as the draw was made, there was a delay, when we didn’t know it was going to be the Wednesday.

“But we should’ve moved our game to Sunday, if we’d got the opportunity.

“With the run of games we’ve had, to be only two-and-a-half days after tonight, to play again, that’s a big ask.

“Gillingham will be lapping it up, I’m sure, the fact that we’ve just had the runaround for 90 minutes.

“That’s why Liam Boyce, just coming back from injury, came off, we didn’t want him or Jamie Allen or Scott Fraser injured. That’s why they came off, to make sure they’re OK for Saturday.

“I just hope we’ve got enough left in the tank, one or two fresh pairs of legs possibly, to help us through.”

Perhaps the most notable mark of that respect was the strength of the City side Guardiola sent out against Burton – and the Spaniard explained why he took the tie’s first leg so seriously and how his team went about breaking Burton down.

“We took it seriously, that is the most important thing with these kind of games,” said Guardiola.

“Big congratulations to Burton for the tournament they have done, because they have beaten teams from the Premier League and three from the Championship, so he (Clough) deserves to be here.

“We played seriously, we scored the first goal quickly and after some period between the first and second one we didn’t control the second balls and they had a clear chance at 1-0 – but the difference, especially between Premier League and League One teams, is the rhythm.

“When you have high intensity during the 90 minutes, at the end they go down.

“That’s why, after the third and fourth goal, it was easier. It’s important to take advantage.”

Nor was there any real disrespect in the City boss stating the obvious, that the second leg of the tie will be a formality.

“We didn’t expect to score so many goals but it’s good because we are in the final,” he said. “Of course, we have to play the second game.”