Following an impressive 3-1 win over Cheltenham on Saturday, Burton Albion travel to Aldershot this evening looking to continue their impressive recent form.
The Brewers made it nine wins from nine at home at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday and, although fortunes on the road have not been quite so good, it is not something that Manager Gary Rowett believes will hold any sway tonight.
‘We’ve got to be mindful of casting our minds back to the previous away game down at Bristol but the reality is we’re on a good run, winning five out of six’ says Rowett, who was today nominated for the npower League 2 Manager of the Month Award for February.
‘I feel that tonight we’ve got to approach the game a little bit stronger mentally than the Bristol Rovers game.Â
‘The players worked very hard to get a good result on Saturday and there is no point undoing that tonight with a poor performance.’
With results clearly the order of the day, Rowett is adamant that the performance of his side is also of the upmost importance.
‘I can take a defeat if it is a good performance, one full of effort and endeavour; I can accept that. What I don’t want us to do is leave much behind in Aldershot.Â
‘We don’t worry about whether we are playing away or at home. If we lost all our remaining away games but won all our home matches I wouldn’t be overly disappointed; it would still be a fantastic achievement.
‘However it would be nice to continue the performances of away games such as Oxford and Wimbledon, where we got decent draws, and at Fleetwood, where we got a fantastic win. That’s what we’ll be looking for this evening.’
Having played on Saturday and with another tough match coming up at the weekend, Rowett has decisions to make with regards to the team he sends out this evening.
‘I think we need to look to freshen things up a little’ he explains.
‘We’ve looked at the last few periods when we’ve played games in quick succession and with the way we play, with a high tempo, it’s important to be brave and look to make a few changes.’
Two players who have been in fine form for then Brewers of late are Jacques Maghoma and Billy Kee; the former having today been nominated for npower League 2 Player of the Month.
However, Rowett believes the Aldershot match could be the game to give the hardworking duo a rest.
‘We’ve got Jacques struggling a little bit, as is Billy, so it might be an opportunity to give those two a little bit of a breather so they are ready for Saturday.
‘I’ll look to maybe bring in two or three players into the side who are desperate to do well and look to maintain the intensity we have been playing with.’
Aldershot Town v Burton Albion is a 7:45pm kick off at the EBB Stadium.