Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough has spoken out about the financial disparity in League One ahead of his side’s visit to former Premier League outfit Sunderland this evening.
Clough acknowledged it was difficult for a club like Burton to compete with the ‘biggest clubs in the league’ but vowed to take the game to the Black Cats in tonight’s fixture.
A late strike cost the Brewers at Peterborough on Saturday despite being the better team for much of the game. The defeat was a massive frustration for Clough, whose side made an excellent start to the season on their travels but have recently seen their form away from the Pirelli Stadium deteriorate.
They have lost three of their last six away games, but Clough was in defiant mood ahead of the clash and insisted his team was on the right track despite the lack of a ‘level playing field’ in the league.
The Brewers boss said this when he spoke to the club’s official website: ”It’s a big ground and a much bigger crowd than we are used to, and if you have anything about you, you want to play in those stadiums and those sort of games.’
‘In football these days finances dominate everything, and there’s no level playing field, and the biggest spenders end up at the top. Sunderland and Ipswich are among the biggest clubs in the league, and it’s difficult for us to compete, but we know we can beat anybody in the league on our day.’
The match in Wearside will be the second of three away days on the bounce for Clough’s men who travel to Oldham in the FA Cup at the weekend.
It continues a lack of equilibrium between home and away fixtures for the Brewers, a trend which has impacted other clubs in the division and something Clough was also quick to point out. He said: ‘Playing Peterborough, Sunderland, and Oldham all away is as tough a week as we are going to have this season.’
‘By tomorrow, we will still have only completed 16 league games, and ten of those will have been away. To have played so few home games by the beginning of December is quite incredible. There is a huge imbalance there.’
Our View
Clough is right about the financial disparity, but this is the case in every division in the EFL.
The trick of a good manager is to get the most out of the resources at your disposal, and Clough continues to do this at Burton.
His comments are also designed to take the pressure of his side and heap more on Sunderland, whose fans will expect nothing less than a victory tonight.
However, we feel Burton will be heading home with at least a point this evening, putting a smile on Clough’s face and adding to what fast approaching a toxic atmosphere under Parkinson at the Stadium of Light.
