Jamie has ‘blossomed’ this season, says Clough
NIGEL Clough says Jamie Allen has “grown and blossomed” back in League One with Burton Albion this season.
The former Rochdale man has scored eight goals in 45 appearances in all competitions, forming an important partnership with central midfield team-mates Scott Fraser and Stephen Quinn.
His most recent goal put Burton on their way to victory over Barnsley at the weekend, while he sent Marcus Harness away in the build-up to Tom Flanagan’s own goal in Tuesday’s draw at Sunderland.
Allen joined Albion for an undisclosed fee in August 2017 and got his first taste of the Championship as Burton fell just short of a second successive survival at that level.
Clough believes Allen found that a tough experience but he says the 24-year-old is now as confident as any member of the Brewers squad, who are on their best run of form of the season.
“We took him off a few weeks ago and I think the crowd were unhappy,” said Clough.
“We were saying to him that what Jamie has to do is to have an impact on the game in some way.
“He was running around doing the same work he does now but not impacting the game enough, whether it be tackling, dispossessing, getting a shot off.
“He is doing that now, he is having an impact on the game.
“It would be nice if he can get 10 goals for the season, him and Scott Fraser, that’s a little target for them in the last six games. It’s not beyond them to do that.
“The way we play, the midfielders have to chip in.
“I think Jamie has just grown and blossomed. Because he is such a quiet lad as well, playing in the Championship for the first time last year, it was unbelievably tough for everybody and especially him.
“This year, he has shown his true value. I think, in the last few weeks, he has been as good as anybody and he’s as confident as anybody at the moment.”