Can Jake Buxton fan the flames on his baptism of fire at Burton Albion?

Jake Buxton takes his Burton side to the KCOM Stadium this weekend with a decimated squad and sitting in the relegation places of League One. It’s not been an easy start to managerial life for Sutton-in-Ashfield born Buxton.

As a player, Buxton made his name at Derby County as a basic, no-nonsense and fully committed centre half. It was Nigel Clough who nurtured his talent at Burton before taking him to Pride Park in the summer of 2009.

Buxton took a little time to adapt to Championship football, but by the end of his time with the Rams, he was a well-respected member of the squad and a firm fans favourite. Enjoying the best football of his career in the ultimately devastating 1-0 defeat to QPR in the Play-Off Final of 2013/14.

Buxton reunited with Clough once more in the summer of 2017 and embodied the values of the club, playing with passion and wearing his heart on his sleeve with honest performances.

It’s not too difficult to see why Brewers chairman Ben Robinson approached him to take over the reigns earlier in the summer and it is some endorsement to not only fill Clough’s shoes but also lead the club through an unprecedented period in their history.

Registered as a player, Buxton was reluctant to carry out dual roles on and off the pitch in the summer, citing that he needed to ‘commit 100%’ to managerial duties and that maintaining levels of fitness to play in League One needed full commitment.

That said, whilst he remains a registered member of the playing squad, he’ll be an option for a return, particularly if Burton continue to struggle at the bottom end of League One.

Up to this point, things haven’t gone exactly to plan for Buxton. Given his credentials as a dependable and solid defender, it’s perhaps surprising that Burton are yet to record a clean sheet under his stewardship. In fact, the last time Burton managed to achieve that feat was back in February 2020.

Burton have only managed one clean sheet since the turn of the year and the deficiency remains an unsolved problem at the Pirelli Stadium that Buxton must ratify. Now nine league games without a win since September, Burton sit second from bottom and desperate for a win to revive the season’s fortunes.

A bad result in the First Round of the FA Cup, losing 1-0 to ten-man National League side Barnet, will have been of concern to Brewers fans. Despite the defeat, Buxton will still be scratching his head as to how his side failed to score in the game with Kane Hemmings, missing the kind of chance that he wouldn’t manage to repeat in another 100 attempts, hitting the crossbar just yards out of a gaping net.

They bounced back in midweek with a win over Fulham Under 21’s on penalties in the Papa John’s Trophy. As a glimmer of hope had momentarily appeared for Buxton’s men, things have gotten that much more difficult in the last few days.

Having had six first-team players test positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and six other players now unavailable due to contact, Buxton may well be a lonely figure in the dugout with four members of his backroom staff also self-isolating.

Reduced to the barebones, youngsters Callum Hawkins and Tom Hewlett have been recalled from their loan spells with Mickleover Sports and Rushall Olympic to bolster the squad.

With the gods conspiring against him, Buxton is about to face the biggest challenge of his managerial career to date as his side travel to Hull on Saturday with The Brewers down on their luck.

“Neither John Brayford nor Neal Eardley have trained after Tuesday (after picking up knocks) and we will have to see if they are available for selection on Saturday.

“We have enough players to play the game and I believe in everyone who will enter the pitch on Saturday – they will give everything for the football club.”

I have spoken to all the players who have tested positive and they are all OK. They have mild headaches, some are more ill than others, but it’s more concern about taking it home to their families.

“It would have been ideal to have had two weeks away and come back but we do have enough players to compete. It’s a challenge at this moment in time but we have to deal with it.”

Whatever the outcome on Saturday, it feels very much like this will be a season of transition for Buxton. With the ultimate aim of allaying any fears of relegation, there will be hopes of getting to the summer with League One status still intact.

If there’s anything that can be guaranteed for Burton fans, however, will be the guarantee that Jake Buxton will demand his side to give their all on the pitch.

Buxton’s counterpart on Saturday, Grant McCann, will only know too well about baptisms of fire. Appointed in the summer of 2019 as Head Coach, McCann almost had mission impossible on his hands from January onwards, as he tried to steer Hull away from the relegation places without top Championship performers Kamil Grosicki and Jared Bowen.

Without their quality, it wasn’t too difficult to pinpoint why Hull struggled and inevitably dropped like a stone to the foot of the Championship table.

Despite the criticism and feeling the brunt of fans frustration on social media following the embarrassing 8-0 defeat to Wigan Atheltic, McCann had done well to hold onto his job as The Tigers were relegated.

In a difficult summer, for every club manager to navigate, McCann has come out of the other side and has started to put smiles back on faces in Humberside. 

Still a work in progress, Hull started the season strongly and had occupied the automatic promotion spots before hitting a few bumps in the road in October. A home defeat to Peterborough United had momentarily curtailed any fans thoughts of getting carried away and a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Swindon Town emphasised that point further.

With an air of uncertainty creeping in on social media, McCann has steadied the ship with encouraging responses from his squad against Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup on Saturday, avenging a 4-1 defeat to Joey Barton’s men earlier in the season with a satisfying 2-0 win. This was followed up on Tuesday evening with a much-changed team overcoming Harrogate Town 2-0 in the Papa John’s Trophy. 

Both results will have certainly steadied the ship from any potential wobble and give McCann confidence that the depth of his squad will be of advantage to him when the time arrives.

The emergence of homegrown defender Jacob Greaves this season has been another positive with the 20-year-old defender signing a new three-year contract on Friday.

“The loan to Cheltenham was great for him – the physical battles of League Two, the demands of it, and he played in a good footballing team.

“The experience of that has carried on since coming back to us and he has started the season really well.

There are going to be challenges but he’s growing and learning every day.

“We’re really pleased because he’s got a bright future.”

Despite Burton being depleted with numbers, Hull are also COVID affected with impressive young talent Keane Lewis-Potter self-isolating.

Experienced Northern Ireland striker Josh Magennis is also missing, away on international duty, but McCann will be quietly confident that if his side apply themselves well to the potential banana skin on Saturday, they can continue to keep climbing the League One table.

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