23/02/13 Burton Albion .v. Exeter - Pirelli Stadium, BurtonBurton Albion .v. Exeter City..Michael SymesMICHAEL Symes says Burton Albion must be wary of the lesser teams in League Two during their promotion run-in.
The 29-year-old target-man bagged his second goal for the Brewers in the 4-2 defeat of Exeter City on Satudray.
Further strikes from Marcus Holness, Jacques Maghoma and Lee Bell sealed a victory which made it three out of three against Burton’s rivals for promotion.
But with Morecambe arriving at the Pirelli tomorrow night, kick-off 7.45pm, Symes has warned against taking a resurgent mid-table side lightly.
“You can take those games for granted,” said the on-loan Leyton Orient striker. “We’ve got to expect every game to be tough and treat every one as a cup final.
“You’ve got to beat the teams around you if you want to go up automatically.
“But we’ve got to make sure we don’t slip up against the teams lower down and take them for granted.
“We’ve got to up our game in every game until the end of the season and try to go up automatically.”
Symes grabbed his first goal at the Pirelli on Saturday and was pleased with the performance a week on from the 4-0 thrashing of Fleetwood Town.
“I’m happy to get a first home goal,” said the 6ft 3in front-runner. “I missed a penalty on my home debut so it’s nice to get a goal and get off the mark at home.
“The main thing is we got the three points.
“I thought we were very good at times.
“First-half we got the goals, but really without playing as well as we know we can.
“I think second-half we got more of a run at them and it was comfortable in the end.
“It was one of those days where you don’t get a load of chances.
“Apart from mine they weren’t clear-cut chances, but great finishes and the lads are really happy.”
Albion assistant boss Kevin Summerfield was full of praise for Symes, naming him as his man of the match, but the player himself was modest about his own performance.
“I think I did all right,” said the former Everton youth player. “It always helps your confidence, getting an early goal.
“I always try to do a shift for the team and the main thing is we keep winning.
“It’s another win at home and long may that continue.”
Symes’ home goal was overdue after he missed a penalty in the 2-0 win over Rotherham United and he is still disappointed with the miss as it cost him penalty-taking duties and a chance from the spot at Fleetwood.
“I normally am (an expert from the spot),” said the ex-Accrington man. “Billy (Kee) jinxed me before the game and said I’m the best penalty taker he’s ever seen.
“I think I took it differently to how I normally do and it’s cost me.
“Obviously, I missed the penalty and didn’t get to take the one at Fleetwood. So it’d be four goals in four games now if I had scored it.
“But as long as we’re getting wins, I don’t mind.”
Now, Symes is targeting a continued improvement away from the Pirelli and sees no reason why the Brewers cannot go on a winning streak on the road.
“As long as we win our home games and start to pick up points away from home (we’ll be okay),” he said.
“There’s no reason why we can’t win five or six on the spin away from home as well with what I’ve seen so far
“The lads are a close-knit group but no-one’s really talking about automatic promotion, we’re just taking each game as it comes.
“We’re just trying to win every game and no-one’s looking that far ahead.”
No deal to bring Symes into the Pirelli on a permanent basis has yet been discussed, but the player is enjoying his loan spell and having a big impact.
“It’s been brilliant,” he said after two goals in four games. “The manager at Leyton Orient was trying to push me to go to another couple of clubs but when Burton came in there was only one club I wanted to go to.
“They were challenging for promotion and a couple of clubs were in relegation fights.
“I love it. The lads are brilliant, the manager’s brilliant and the results are going right. You couldn’t ask for much more really.”
