Goals against are holding Burton back
DEVANTE Cole has left Burton Albion after being recalled by parent club Wigan Athletic.
The 23-year-old returns to the Championship Latics having made 16 appearances for the Brewers in all competitions, scoring twice in that time.
Cole joined Albion on what was expected to be a season-long loan in August, scoring his first Burton goal in a 2-2 draw at Portsmouth in October, when he came on as a half-time substitute.
His first League start then followed after some cameo appearances from the bench and he got the Brewers’ second goal in a superb performance at Walsall in November, when they won 3-1.
That came during Cole’s longest run in the team, when he led Burton’s three-man attack, with Liam Boyce shifted to the left flank.
But Boyce and Lucas Akins have been favoured in that lead striker role over recent weeks, and ex-Manchester City man Cole featured only once since a 2-1 loss at home to Charlton Athletic on November 27.
He started in the defeat at Luton Town on December 22 but has been an unused substitute in each League game since then.
He returns to the DW Stadium with the Latics sat ninth in the Championship table, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Manager Nigel Clough said: “Our thanks go to Devante for his efforts during his spell here.
“He didn’t quite get the number of games he might have liked due to the fine form of Lucas Akins but, when he got on the pitch, he made an impact and we appreciate his contribution.
“He goes back to Wigan with our best wishes.”
Cole’s exit means Burton now have two loan players at the club – Chelsea goalkeeper Bradley Collins and Brentford’s Josh Clarke. NIGEL Clough believes the goals Burton Albion have conceded this season are holding them back from being genuine promotion contenders.
The Brewers were beaten 3-2 at home by Gillingham on Saturday, taking their tally of goals shipped in League One to 36 from
27 matches.
That is the same number they have scored – and that total should have been increased at the weekend, when they spurned a barrage of chances even before the Gills took a twogoal lead into halftime.
Albion’s attacking, eye-catching brand of football this season has too often lacked ruthlessness in both penalty areas, which explains why they have already lost more games (12) than they did in the whole of their promotion campaign of 2015-16 (11).
They are now only one goal short of the number they conceded in that 46-game season.
Therefore, when Brewers boss Clough was asked if games like Saturday’s were impeding Albion’s bid to stage a real promotion push, he Nigel Clough Gillingham keeper Tomas Holy reaches the ball ahead of Liam Boyce on a frustrating day for Burton Albion on Saturday. said: “Without a doubt. We are very close to getting a team to have a real promotion challenge, whether it be automatic or top six.
“You can see how close we are. Even in the five defeats at home, we have absolutely pummelled teams at times.
“But you have to do your jobs defensively.
“That’s what is stopping us. That’s all that is stopping us, the goals we’ve conceded.
“We are scoring enough, we are certainly creating enough.
“It’s just conceding goals that is holding us back.”
Fourteen teams have a better goals against record than 11thplaced Albion, while 10 have scored more than Albion’s 36 goals.
Second-placed Luton Town lead the “goals for” chart with 50, while Barnsley, fifth in the table, have conceded the fewest in the division, 22.
At the other end, Rochdale, beaten 4-0 by Burton a week last Saturday, have shipped more than any other side, with 58 goals against, leaving them 19th.
Bottom-of-the-table AFC Wimbledon have scored the fewest – only 21 from 27 games.