Burton Albion 2015/16 Season

League Position: 2nd League One (2014/15: 1st League Two)

Average league attendance: 4,089 (2014/15: 3,237)

Top league goalscorer: Lucas Akins (12)

Eight seasons ago Burton Albion's league fixtures included Weymouth, Lewes, and Barrow, now The Brewers are gearing up to welcome Newcastle United, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest to The Pirelli Stadium as they look forward to Championship football for the first time.

After gaining promotion to League One in 2015, not many expected Burton to be challenging at the top end of the third tier in their first ever season at that level but that is exactly what Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's tight knit squad did. Hasselbaink kept the majority of his squad which won promotion from League Two intact with only five players coming in, and four departing, during the summer transfer window. That consistent approach paid off as The Brewers carried their winning form over into the new season. Scunthorpe United, Blackpool, Peterborough United, Swindon Town, and Southend United were all seen off in the opening months of the season as Burton tasted defeat just twice in their opening 11 league games.

One point from three games in October hinted at a long-predicted decline but The Brewers roared back to form with a run of seven wins in eight. Promotion rivals Wigan Athletic, Millwall, Gillingham, and Coventry were all swept aside in that run which saw Burton top the table in mid-January. In the midst of that winning sequence Hasselbaink had departed for Queens Park Rangers with Nigel Clough, the man who took Burton from the Northern Premier to the brink of the Football League seven years earlier, returning. Star-midfielder Abdenasser El Khayati followed his manager to Loftus Road but wins kept on coming as Burton went into the final eight games, six points clear of third-place. That advantage had been whittled down to three points after six winless games, but victories over Colchester United and Gillingham meant that The Brewers needed just a draw on the final day against all-but relegated Doncaster Rovers to secure promotion. The precious point was achieved after a 0-0 draw at the Keepmoat Stadium as Burton made history by booking their spot in the second tier.

The Ground

Pirelli Stadium Princess Way Burton-on-Trent DE13 0BH Click here for directions to the Pirelli Stadium

The Manager

An accomplished striker in his playing days, Nigel Clough, son of legendary manager Brian, earned 14 England caps during a career that took in Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday, and Burton Albion. Clough made his name under his father at Nottingham Forest where he helped The Reds to two League Cup titles and two Full Members Cup titles. He scored 131 goals during his time at The City Ground before frustrating spells at Anfield and Maine Road saw him call time on his professional career in 1998.

Clough spent the next decade as player-manager and then manager of Burton taking them from the seventh tier of English football to the brink of the Football League before departing for Derby County in 2009. His four years at Derby saw steady improvement but he was unable to break into the Play-Offs. A poor start to the 2013-14 saw him sacked in September before he took charge at Sheffield United a month later. His exploits in leading The Blades away from the League One relegation zone and to an FA Cup semi-final saw him named the LMA FA Cup Manager of the Season. United repeated their cup heroics the following season with a run to the League Cup Semi-Final but it wasn't enough to stop Clough parting company with United at the end of the season before a return to Burton last December.

The First Meeting

N/A

The Last Meeting

N/A

Head to Head

N/A