Twelve months apart, Nigel Clough's message has been the same following the release of Burton Albion's last two retained lists.

At the end of the 2016-17 season and having seen his team upset all the odds to secure a remarkable second season in the Championship, Clough spoke repeatedly about keeping the "nucleus" of his squad together.

This time around, with a return to League One confirmed following that final-day agony at Deepdale, the Albion boss is singing from a similar hymn sheet.

"If we can, I think that's going to be key, trying to keep as many of them together," he said on Wednesday.

Lloyd Dyer is one of six Burton Albion players offered new contracts
Lloyd Dyer is one of six Burton Albion players offered new contracts

Albion have offered new deals to six players whose contracts expire this summer: Tom Naylor, Jake Buxton, Damien McCrory, Hope Akpan, Lloyd Dyer and Harry Campbell.

They currently have 16 players under contract for next season, with only one of those - Tom Flanagan - made available for transfer.

Academy graduate duo Callum Hawkins and Reece Hutchinson have also signed their first professional contracts with the club, while the only senior player released was Luke Varney.

Jayden Cotterill and Jack Hallahan have also been let go after their first season as pros since graduating from the Brewers academy, and Shaun Barker and Stephen Warnock have both confirmed their retirement from the game.

Just as a year ago, that list points towards continuity and a desire to avoid extensive change between one campaign and the next.

That situation was unsurprising in May 2017.

Clough had built a squad, on the Championship's lowest budget, that was capable of competing against an array of big-name sides and hold its own in the division.

Liam Boyce's face says it all as Burton Albion are relegated

The target last summer was to add quality and depth to that side, while still maintaining much of what had already worked about it.

And while Burton could not repeat their feat of survival this time around, the plan will not be vastly different as preparations for League One begin.

Indeed, there is not even the surprise departure of a staple of the team, like Jon McLaughlin last year or Robbie Weir and Shane Cansdell-Sherriff in 2016, with Varney having made only four appearances since December 9 ahead of his release.

Inevitably, Albion's budget will have to be reduced as they drop down a league and miss out on the financial gains that the Championship can bring.

But the Brewers' approach will not drastically change.

That was already expected, and Wednesday's retained list confirmed it.

Whatever is to happen as they return to the third tier - for only the second time in their history, of course - they will want to hit the ground running after relegation.

As Clough points out, this is a squad that, while certainly susceptible to poor form and under-par performances during a campaign in which they went seven months without a home win, still came within five minutes of a miraculous survival.

Nigel Clough at Deepdale
Nigel Clough at Deepdale

They showed during purple patches around Christmas and in the final month of the campaign that they could produce some eye-catching football and find different ways to secure positive results.

Different players shone in different ways during those spells.

If Albion can keep that core together again, it will be hoped to carry the momentum of the team's late-season form and be expected to be competitive in League One.

Burton Albion's players celebrate Lucas Akins' second goal against Bolton Wanderers
Burton Albion's players celebrate Lucas Akins' second goal against Bolton Wanderers

"Although we have been disappointing at times this season, we were within four or five minutes of staying in the Championship with this group of players," added Clough.

"We'd like to try to keep as many of them together as we can and compete in League One."

There are no guarantees, of course.

Albion's four loan players will return to their parent clubs, and they must wait on the decisions of that out-of-contract sextet before knowing the exact state of the squad and what may or may not need addressing.

Interest could yet come in for Brewers players who are currently under contract at the Pirelli, too.

Last August, Jackson Irvine left for Hull City and captain John Mousinho moved to Oxford United in the final 48 hours of the summer window.

But Clough's intent is clear.

He wants to see what a squad that pushed right to the death for Championship survival can do in the new surrounds of the third tier.

The pain of relegation is still fresh, but preparations for the 2018-19 campaign are now underway.