Burton Albion midfielder Luke Murphy wants the Brewers to give themselves a bit more breathing space next season as they fight for Championship survival.

Murphy comes back to Albion on a season-long loan from Leeds United after spending the latter half of last season at the Pirelli Stadium.

The 28-year-old will be hoping to have a similarly influential effect on the Brewers this time around, with his performances in central midfield lauded by fans and staff alike as Albion avoided the drop by a point in 2016/17.

His displays in a Burton shirt prompted Nigel Clough to move to sign the former Crewe Alexandra man up for another year earlier this month.

Murphy started and captained the first half of Wednesday night's 5-0 friendly defeat of Kidsgrove Athletic and played the second 45 of the 4-0 victory over Mickleover Sports on Friday.

It is so far, so good for the Brewers in pre-season with two wins and two clean sheets under their belt at this stage - although a boost to their fitness is the most valuable aspect so far.

And with a solid summer of work under the belt, Murphy is hopeful Albion can push on next term and avoid a repeat of the penultimate-day drama they endured at Barnsley last term.

Albion eventually finished the campaign in 20th place, one point and two goals away from relegation - too close for comfort according to Murphy.

The Leeds man is clear in his expectations of Albion this season - to push on and improve, while also tightening up at the back to see out games.

Hopefully, the Brewers' experience of last season will have shown the players who haven't competed at this level before just how brutal this division can be.

A late goal at Cardiff City in January - just two weeks after Murphy's Albion arrival - resulted in a 1-0 defeat and sent Albion into the bottom three for the one and only time that term.

It showed how tight the margins really are in the Championship - the Brewers were regularly undone late on in halves, with Huddersfield Town and Leeds United among other sides to defeat Clough's side in the final 10 minutes.

"The first aim is to stay in the league, but looking back at last season, there were games where we lost in the 90th minute and we felt like we could have come away with a point," said Murphy.

"And, looking back at the end of the season, the table looked a lot tighter than what it actually felt like.

Luke Murphy during his first Burton Albion loan

"The last few games we played some good football, and we felt like it was more comfortable than what it looked.

"Obviously, the last game of the season it finished and if we hadn't got a point at Barnsley, then it came about that we would have been relegated.

"As I said, we need to push on and improve for this season and hopefully finish higher."