LUCAS Akins says that he is hoping to make his experience count this season and hopes he can use it to help the rest of the squad.
Akins was a leading light for the Brewers during their sole previous season in League One, leading the club’s scoring charts with 12 goals in the league, having also netted 10 in League Two during the previous campaign.
Akins accepts that with the added firepower of players such as Liam Boyce, he may not have to shoulder the goal scoring burden quite so much this time around but has challenged the entire squad to take on defensive and attacking responsibilities in equal measure.
He said: “I am just looking to try to kick on. Obviously, I am a bit older now so hopefully my experience can help the boys. Every time that you step on the pitch you want to affect the game. You want to score a goal or create one and it is important that we all take responsibility and do that.
“It is the same with clean sheets, we have conceded a couple of goals at the start of this season and it is a real team effort to try to keep the ball out of the net. The team onus is not only on the back four, it is on all of us and I think that we showed that a little bit more against Shrewsbury and we need to do that more moving forward.
“Different teams are going to bring different conundrums, so it is whatever the gaffer fancies on the day. Obviously, anywhere in attack would be great but you can create attacks from defensive positions and just putting your mark on the game in any way really, I am just looking to affect the game in any way I can from anywhere that I can.”