MARTIN Paterson was delighted as his team stepped up to bag a big three points in the fight to stay in League One.
Reading were beaten 3-2 as the Brewers finally gave the fans something to cheer about at the Pirelli Stadium and bounced back from the midweek defeat at home to Cheltenham.
Paterson said: “In the first half we were good and obviously I knew I wanted to address this game at home with two wingers. We changed to a 4-3-3 and it suited us, and I liked it. I was delighted with the way we moved the ball around and in the first period of the game we looked good.
“But we made life really hard for ourselves defensively and in moments. I honestly think it was nerves as it was such a big game. We needed points on the board.
“In the second half I had to think about the position we are in, not what I would like to do. I needed to limit the damage their dangerous winger was causing so I changed shape out of necessity to see the game out. It was nerve wracking at the end if I’m being honest.”
With Port Vale and Cheltenham both losing, three points significantly eased the Brewers relegation fears but Paterson wasn’t checking the other results.
“I tried to block that out and focus on seeing this game out as we needed a win. We made it more difficult than it should have been, but we got there.
“They came here and played really direct on big diagonals and I thought we were comfortable apart from a few hairy moments due to nerves.
“Nerves were always going to be high today. I knew that. We approached the game with a different strategy, and it worked."
The Brewers League One status could be secured on Tuesday now if Cheltenham fail to beat Peterborough, otherwise Albion will have to complete the job at Fleetwood next Saturday.
Paterson said: “The job's not done yet as the remit is not met. The supporters deserved that result but I know there’s work to be done this week.”
