Burton Albion Football Club

Burton Albion manager Gary Rowett has urge hi squad to build on the last two games when they visit Portsmouth on Tuesday night.

Following wins over Accrington Stanley and Oxford, the Brewers currently sit only two points from an automatic promotion spot, and Rowett wants his players to dig deep when they visit Fratton Park.

“It’s important that we build on these two fantastic results. Accrington at home was never going to be easy, and Oxford away was going to be even harder. 

“We play one of the form sides who are going well with some excellent players. We’re going to have to dig deep, go again and make sure we’re ready.

“It’s a game that most of the players will look forward to playing in because of the crowd and the atmosphere and we may need some fresh legs. We’re going to need to go there and play with the same energy and it’s a big game. They’re probably the biggest side in the bottom two divisions and we’re looking forward to it,” said Rowett.

With the likes of Ian Sharps and Damien McCrory struggling at the end of Saturday’s game, Rowett has called on the rest of the squad to come in and take their opportunity – and hasn’t ruled out mixing things up to keep players fresh.

“It’s difficult to say at this stage whether they’ll be right for Tuesday, but we have the likes of Chris Hussey, Adam McGurk and David Gray who weren't involved on Saturday. Straight away you have good players who are raring to go and desperate for an opportunity. 

“I might need to take a gamble and change things around, although it’s always tempting to keep things as similar as you can. Winning the last two games has put us in a good position so I’m sure the adrenaline will get them through.

“It’s good to have Michael Symes back. Gary Alexander is struggling a bit but hopefully that won’t be too serious. We might need to bring in one or two bodies for cover, but we have a strong squad and this is why we’ve always spoken about our depth. It gives one or two players an opportunity to come in and give their bit to the campaign,” Rowett said.

With eleven games remaining and so much to play for, Rowett wants to capitalise on the inconsistent form of other sides and put a run together themselves.

“One or two teams around us are struggling to win games, so this is a perfect time to hit the ground running and do a bit more. We’ve said to the players that with 11 games left it’s about whether we have that extra bit of drive and determination, and games like Saturday showed that.”