We can beat Burton - Croft

Winger Lee Croft says Athletic are capable of causing an upset at Burton Albion on Saturday.

ATHLETIC have already proven they have the measure of the ‘Leicester of League One’, argues Lee Croft.

John Sheridan’s side pulls in at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday to face a Burton Albion outfit riding a wave of confidence, six points clear at the top of the table.

For Croft, there is no doubt that if Athletic perform at their best, they have a very good chance of upsetting the applecart — putting a dent in Burton’s ambitions while also handing a massive boost to the fight against relegation. He cites the game between the sides earlier in the season as evidence. Athletic had by far the better of the game, but lost 1-0.

Even without ineligible pair Matt Palmer and Timmy Thiele, Croft believes Athletic can get the result they want in the televised game (12.30pm kick-off).

“Matt has been brilliant and he will be a big loss,” said Croft. “Burton were brilliant under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at the start of the season and they have just kept going from there.

“It is hard to pick out a single reason why they have done so well. They are a good team rather than a collection of star players and since Nigel Clough has come in he just seems to have kept things going.

“They are a bit like Leicester have been in the Premier League, just keeping on going every week.

“But we will go there confident we can do well. I was speaking to Matt Palmer about our game earlier this season at our place. He admitted we battered them that day, but ended up losing. Hopefully we can do the same on Saturday, but with a different result.”

The emergency loan deadline passes today and though Croft has not started a game since October, he has had no thoughts of trying to get a move elsewhere.

“I just want to work hard,” he added. “I enjoy it here and the gaffer and Peter Shirtliff’s training sessions are really good. There is only one place I want to be, and that’s here.”