BREWERS BOSS REMAINS DEFIANT

Burton boss Clive Short was still in bullish mood ahead his sides crunch clash with division 3 champions Bristol City tomorrow night. Nothing more than a win would be enough to stave off relegation. At least until the weekends fixtures.

"Look, I'm not stupid, I know what's at stake tomorrow night. I'm fully aware what could happen, we need to get all 3 points but at then end of the day we are reliant on other results. Just as we have been since I walked in the door. But, on the other hand, a win for us and a defeat for Notts County against Portsmouth and we're within a point of them and it really is game on. The lads were very down after that last minute equaliser for MK Dons on Saturday but they are all fired up for tomorrow. I've not had to say too much regarding tomorrow. They all know. Bristol Citys season may be effectively over but that doesn't mean they'll come here and stand aside. "

After receiving criticism from the local media for letting Stuart Beavon move to Kettering Town leaving Burton short on experienced strikers Short responded with an attack on the striker. "Stuart Beavon?? Well, he came to see me demanding to know why he wasn't playing which I didn't mind. He then proceeded to tell me that he's a goalscorer, what a good record he had, that Emile Heskey and Eidur Gudjohnsen are passed it and he should be the main striker. So I then told him he's scored 3 goals in 16 starts and 2 sub appearances and that I don't consider that a good record. To be fair though our overall goal scoring record isn't great. Don't get me wrong, I don't have an issue players coming to see me if they aren't getting game time. What I do have an issue with is a player slagging off his team mates and when that same player tells the Chairman, of all people, he hopes we go down to trigger the free release clause in his contract. If he'd been 18 years old I would have pulled in for another chat but he's 30. He had to go. Simple as that. I would have personally drove him to Kettering or anywhere else silly enough to have taken him on."