NIGEL Clough was delighted with a clean sheet and an away point as the Brewers fought out a 0-0 draw away at Bristol Rovers.
The Brewers manager said: “The effort that has gone in today was magnificent again and we haven’t had enough games like that where we have kept a clean sheet and got a point.
“We could and maybe should have won it in the first 60-70 minutes of the game. We played well enough to have won the game but when you haven’t scored then in the last 10-15 minutes, they were always going to put us under pressure and I thought we stood up to it brilliantly.
“After this intense run of games, the lads are running on empty and they couldn’t try any harder. We tried to bring in a bit of freshness in midfield with Kieran Wallace and Ben Fox, but it is very tough physically and we had three of our four leading scorers missing at the start which makes it even more difficult
“All in all, with the schedule we have had it’s a good point and a deserved one as well.”
Clough praised the way the defence snuffed out Bristol’s attacking threat with the home side playing in front of a big New Year’s Day crowd on the back of three straight wins.
He said: “Jake Buxton typified it as he has thrown himself in front of everything, won his headers, and cleared everything.
“John Brayford has played with a hamstring problem in the last hour of the game and Stephen Quinn with a groin problem. These players could have come off at half-time, but it speaks volumes for their character that they wanted to stay out there.
“Without Chris Beardsley we couldn’t have named a full bench today so all in all the spirit we have shown that’s the most pleasing thing and it has resulted in a three-game unbeaten run.
“I can’t stress enough that when you play six games in 17 days it doesn’t half take it out of the players.”