Burton Albion enter a season-defining, and possibly era-defining, period beginning with Saturday's trip to Ipswich Town (3pm).

"They won't define our season, games against the top teams," Albion boss Nigel Clough said after his side suffered back-to-back 4-0 defeats to Aston Villa and Wolves in October.

Clough was right, the time for talking about season-defining matches certainly wasn't after just 10 matches of the season.

Now is the time, though, as the Brewers head into arguably their most important run of fixtures in their history off the back of a loss to Villa that offered more hope than last year’s beating at the Pirelli Stadium did.

Keinan Davis in action for Aston Villa
Keinan Davis in action for Aston Villa

Clough's side have been buoyed by the 3-2 defeat at Villa Park which sends them into 16 vital games full of renewed hope and vigour.

Contrast the current feeling around the side with the despondency following October's 2-1 defeat to Ipswich at the Pirelli Stadium, and you get a real sense that Albion can once again avoid relegation to League One.

Bersant Celina's last-gasp free-kick won a game that should have been put out of sight much earlier with the Brewers missing a myriad of chances before the Tractor Boys' late show.

"That was one of the games that you put down and you think its three points, not even a point," Clough said.

Connor Ripley can do nothing to keep out Bersant Celina's late free-kick winner for Ipswich Town

"Having conceded the equaliser, we certainly shouldn't lose the game in the 89th minute.

"I think that game probably epitomises our home form.

"We haven't played as well as that too often, but even when we dominated as much as we did we still couldn't get a result."

Those points could have proved precious come the end of the season - but the Brewers' job now is to make sure they aren't looking back at games, such as the reverse fixture against Saturday's opponents, and thinking 'what if?'

Nigel Clough of Burton Albion
Nigel Clough of Burton Albion

The next 16 games will define Burton's season, with crunch clashes coming up against fellow strugglers Hull City, Sunderland, Barnsley and Birmingham City.

Albion have been here before, though, and that could either be in their favour or be used as a stick to be beaten with.

After the same amount of games last season, the Brewers found themselves in the relegation zone for one of the few days they occupied a spot in the bottom-three.

A stirring 0-0 draw at Derby County began a run that saw Clough's side lose just four times in the next 16 matches.

Birmingham City celebrate opening the scoring against Sunderland
Birmingham City celebrate opening the scoring against Sunderland

Big wins against Birmingham, Leeds United, and Nottingham Forest all helped the Brewers over the line.

Portman Road needs to be the scene of the start of a similar, if not better, run because the Brewers don't have the luxury of being a couple of points clear of the relegation places as they were heading into their first competitive meeting at Pride Park.

Burton Albion teamtalk at Derby County

Albion see out February with matches against Barnsley, Forest and Millwall before a tough March that pits the Brewers against promotion chasers Cardiff City, Bristol City and Wolves.

The green shoots of recovery were certainly there last time out, but they need to materialise into a sustained period for the next 16 games for Clough’s side to have a chance of achieving survival once again.