Nigel Clough believes Burton Albion must become less of a Jekyll and Hyde side after the international break.

The Brewers headed into the break on the back of successive 4-0 home defeats at the hands of Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Add to that the 5-0 humbling at Leeds United at the start of September, and Clough's team suffered their three heaviest Championship defeats in the space of a month.

But there have been some highly encouraging moments as well so far this season, with the Burton boss claiming the 2-1 victory over Fulham as his side's best since coming into the second tier in August 2016.

Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough
Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough

It largely has been hit or miss for the Brewers after 11 games, leaving them one point above the drop zone at this stage.

And Clough says his players must make sure games do not slide away from them too quickly if things are not going their way.

"We seem to be all or nothing at the moment," he said.

"We seem to be brilliant at keeping a clean sheet and teams have really struggled, or we are conceding three and four.

"That's where we've got to improve, and when that first goal goes in, we tell the lads the priority then is to not concede the second one.

"On Tuesday, in the Villa game, it's a mishit, the second goal was a mishit.

"And then Stephen (Bywater) makes his first mistake since he's come into the team at the end of last season (to concede the second against Wolves).

Burton Albion goalkeeper Stephen Bywater looks on after Wolves score their second goal of the afternoon
Burton Albion goalkeeper Stephen Bywater looks on after Wolves score their second goal of the afternoon

"It's just the timing of it."

One moment at the positive end of the spectrum for Burton came with the second-half display at home to Birmingham City in August, when the Brewers recovered from a one-goal deficit to win 2-1 by blowing their visitors away.

The Blues are one of the three sides currently below Albion in the table - they are a point adrift after 11 games.

Sunderland sit 23rd on seven points, while Bolton Wanderers are currently adrift at the bottom, with two points to their name.

Sides of the ilk of recently-relegated Hull City and Reading - this year's beaten play-off finalists - are also in the lower echelons of the division at this stage, again proving Clough's view that the Championship may be tougher than ever this season.

Lucas Akins wheels away after putting Burton Albion 2-1 up against Fulham
Lucas Akins wheels away after putting Burton Albion 2-1 up against Fulham

"Reading were a gnat's whisker off being in the Premier League - then all of a sudden, they find themselves in the bottom six," he added.

"That's the nature of the Championship this season.

"I would say it's the most volatile Championship, with so many teams vying - it is an incredible league.

"I don't think there's any other league like it, where there are so many teams that can succeed or fail.

"If you were going to say Sunderland would be in the bottom three at the end of September, you'd have said they'd be halfway, they might not be challenging - but you wouldn't have said they'd be in the bottom three.

"They had a good start as well, or a reasonable start.

"That's the other thing - we still have to put things in perspective.

"We know how low we are when we've lost two games.

"You look at teams like Birmingham and Sunderland, and we are above them still.

"And we've had a very, very tough start in terms of fixtures."