BREWERS skipper Jake Buxton says the lads will be as excited to see the new fixtures as the fans.
The 2019/20 EFL League One fixtures were released today and the squad can now start to plan for an opening day home game against Ipswich Town.
Buxton said: “You have the summer to rest and get ready to play again but it never seems real until the fixtures come out. When they do, you start to get excited about the new season coming and start to plan and organise your life.
“It’s always good to play at home on the first game of the season. It’s a tough start against a team who have come down from the Championship. It’s good for the fans to have a big club at home in the first game and they will bring a good following.”
It’s then Gillingham away for the Brewers a week later.
Buxton said: “We went down to Gillingham around the same time last year and were beaten and this year we want a better start to the season.”
The Brewers then face another team who were in the Championship last season, Rotherham, at home on August 17 and travel to Oxford United on August 20
Buxton said: “It’s not an easy start but there aren’t too many easy games in this division. It’s a similar sort of run to last season.”
The skipper is happy to be at home on Boxing Day when the Brewers face Tranmere.
“Being at home on Boxing Day means you aren’t travelling away on Christmas Day night. You can spend Christmas with your family and plan the game normally.
“New Year’s Eve has always been a no show for footballers, and I would imagine we will be staying over on December 31 up in Bolton getting ready to play the game on New Year’s Day.”
The Brewers face three of the fancied-for-promotion sides in the last three games – Sunderland, Coventry and Portsmouth.
Buxton said: “Last season’s run in was very tough and also included Sunderland and Portsmouth as well as Luton and we picked up some good points and played well. It was a shame there was nothing riding on it for us.
“You have to win the games whoever the league throws at you if you want to be successful whether that’s spread out over the season or in a run at the end. We want to get the points that will get us in the play offs or higher.”