Branston sets his sights on a cup run and play-off push

BURTON Albion captain Guy Branston believes the Brewers are more than capable of sustaining an FA Cup run and a promotion play-off push in their first season in the Football League.

Albion travel to take on League One side Gillingham in the third round of the world’s most famous club cup competition tomorrow on the back of a 2-1 league defeat at Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night, but Branston is looking to bounce back on two fronts.

The Brewers know all about what potential riches lie in wait should they progress to the third round having drawn Manchester United at that stage in the 2005/06 campaign, while Branston himself faced Premier League Fulham in the fourth round with Blue Square Premier side Kettering Town last season.

And Albion’s skipper has dismissed thoughts that progress in the FA Cup could have an adverse effect on League form as they look to establish themselves in their first season following promotion.

The 30-year-old central defender said: “Saturday is a massive game for the football club.

“Second round of the FA Cup — it’s going to be great, it’s going to be absolutely great.” Branston and his fellow defenders had a torrid time — particularly in the first half — at Gresty Road in midweek, with the pace of frontmen Calvin Zola, Clayton Donaldson and Joel Grant causing problems.

And with Branston and company set to face 12-goal striker Simeon Jackson tomorrow, the Brewers skipper knows his side will have to put in an improved performance if they are to pull off a shock.

The Leicester-born defender said: “Hopefully we can play like we did second half at Crewe and if we can play anything like that, I think we can give them a run for their money.

“If we don’t turn up, we’re going to get spanked.

“They have got great forward movement up front — Simeon Jackson if he plays, the lad from Tottenham, (Andy) Barcham — some real, real good young players.

“It’s gonna be a hard game because their lads will want to show they’re League One and obviously we’ll wanna show we’re good enough to play it that league.

“It’s gonna be a good battle. I think it will be one of the better FA Cup ties — the battling element of it all — so I’m looking forward to it, I really am.” Asked if Albion’s underdogs tag would result in them being more relaxed and see them ‘go for it’, Branston said: “The gaffer always says, to be fair, ‘go out and enjoy it, go and play with confidence, go and be a footballer’.

“He always goes on about it’s the best job in the world, and it is the best job in the world.

“So if we can go there with a big grin on our faces and go and play in the FA Cup like everyone wants to as a kid — I certainly still want to play in the FA Cup — (we can cause an upset).

“When we’re on our game we’re a match for anybody.

“It’s gonna be a great cup tie and I’m really looking forward to it now.” Having defeated the likes of Lincoln City and Notts County on the way to the fourth round with Kettering last season, Branston wants to be involved in more giantkilling acts and prove to everyone that Albion are now well and truly a Football League side.

“With Kettering last season it was a great time because obviously we were pushing for promotion as well and the whole club was buzzing,” he said.

“It was a good little club, Kettering, I really enjoyed it there, and hopefully we can do that here as well because I know the chairman loves the FA Cup, it’s got him a lot of coverage club-wise.

“It would be good for us nonleaguers, as they keep wanting to talk about us now even though I think we’re a League club by a mile, to go out there and show we can chop it up with the big boys.

“When I was at Kettering, we did that. There were times when we battered Lincoln, we battered Notts County, and we went and obviously nicked two results and drew Fulham, and we gave Fulham a real good game (before losing 4-2).” However, Branston does not believe that a similar run this season with the Brewers would harm their chance of pushing for a playoff spot — something the no-nonsense defender thinks is within their capabilities.

He said: “It might be a bit of a break (from the league), but then we’ve got Accrington Stanley on Tuesday who we’ve gotta go and beat because we want to go and get in the play-offs now.

“The lads are actually thinking about play-offs now rather than staying up because we’ve kind of passed all expectations rather than sat there and picked up one or two points.

“We’ve gone and got 20-odd now and we want to get in the 30s and 40s and 50s and keep going all the way.

“I don’t think it will be a distraction from the league. Stabilizing in the league is something we’re looking beyond now, we’re going for it.

“We’re signing lads from Crystal Palace (Kieron Cadogan) — a Championship player. We want to go and progress.

“I don’t think the gaffer’s come to sit here for a couple of years, I think he wants to kick on, the same as (assistant manager) Gaz (Gary Rowett), myself and the chairman.

“If the chairman thinks that we need players, I think he’ll give the gaffer money.

“If he doesn’t think we need players and the gaffer doesn’t think we need players, then I think he’ll stick with the same squad.

“We’ve got a decent size squad for a team like Burton.

“I think we’ve got to look at it and think we can sustain this because of the squad we’ve already got.

“(We may only need) probably one or two fresh legs in January, February, just before the end of the season, then probably one or two loan players because we’ve got a decent squad.

“We’ve still got Gooders (Marc Goodfellow) there, Keith (Gilroy) can come in, Aaron Brown, Stridey (Darren Stride) if needed, all these players, decent players who can come in, are more than capable of doing a good job in the Football League.”