Burton Albion made history in the 2014/15 season by gaining promotion to Sky Bet League 1, the highest the club has finished in its 65 year existence.
Gary Rowett set the foundations at the start of the season after reaching the play-off final last season before he departed for Birmingham City in November. Dutch rookie Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink took the reins at the Pirelli Stadium and I think it’s fair to say, a few eyebrows were raised.A 3-1 win against Wycombe Wanderers put a smile on the faces of the travelling fans. With just three losses in 30 games in charge – Hasselbaink wrote his name in the history books as he picked up the highest win rate as a Burton Albion manager with 61%.
Fans were left singing Hasselbaink’s name as his team lifted the trophy in front of around 2,000 Albion fans on Sunday 3rd May at the Pirelli Stadium. What are the secrets behind the success?
“You don’t have to be strict, you have to be consistent.” Hasselbaink told burtonalbionfc.co.uk
“The thing that people forget is when we win, we get three points, not five.
“That is what people have to understand and that is not only footballers…That is managers, journalists, that is players and it is everybody else too.
“OK certain wins are crucial but when you reflect on the season, you may say this win was crucial but you can only do that after the season.”
Hasselbaink has a remarkable record and it is evident that things have changed behind the scenes since Gary Rowett’s departure. With 22 wins since his arrival, it appears that his team don’t do a lot of sitting around, as Hasselbaink explains.
“We do not sit still with a win.
“We don’t all of a sudden stop working. We keep on working.
“It is not like we are not training or have an extra day off.
“We are in, I’m in, everybody is in. We train and prepare. We needed to be ready and perform.
“You can’t say they deserve a day off just because they are doing well.
“I am a big believer that you have a day off because you need a day off.
“We all want to work to get a win but you need a day off because you have worked so hard and I can see that you need a day off.”