Burton Albion manager Gary Bowyer took the time to sit down exclusively with The Deck’s League One Lowdown podcast in an exclusive interview.
The interview, hosted by Jamie Johnson and Callum Davis took a deep dive into his spell at Burton Albion so far as well as their ambitions for this season and into the future.
Gary also discussed his early retirement from football at just 25 years old, his route into coaching as well as his passion for the game amongst other topics.
YouTube – Exclusive: Gary Bowyer Reveals Burton Albion’s Plans & League One Ambitions
Spotify – Spotify Link – League One Lowdown
What’s Coming Up?
Here are a few select quotes from the extensive interview.
On the Burton Albion squad when he joined
Gary described the Burton Albion squad as being at “rock bottom” when he joined the club.
“When you go into clubs, generally it is because they aren’t doing well.”
“But the story with Burton, we only won two in the first 25 games”
“So when we went in there the players, supporters and staff were not in the best spirits”
“It was our job… to get some organisation some structure and just get some smiles on faces again”
On the season so far and player departures
After the success of staying in the division last season, Burton Albion saw a number of key players depart. This had an impact on the momentum of the club at the beginning of the campaign.
“Then we lost quite a few key personnel”
“Max Crocombe, went up to the Championship”
“I have no problems with that, an international for New Zealand and we knew his performances were outstanding for us”.
“He was out of contract so we knew there would be a lot of interest”
“I don’t have a problem with any player progressing to go higher and better themselves because it is a short career”
“We lost our captain Ryan Sweeney, he went to Mansfield. He was immense and Böðvarsson, who was such a big signing for us in January”
“We knew we had a massive rebuild”
“The first couple of months were difficult, which we always knew they would be”
On Burton Albion’s Ambitions for This Season and Beyond
Gary was asked what his targets are for this season and beyond but is keen not to get too excited.
“Success would be, being in the division this time next season”
“That is the first benchmark. To make sure we retain our status in League One”
“Depending on what business you could do in January, how you can go about your business. How much luck you get as well, then to certainly try and finish as high as we possibly can. That, you know, that’s what we’re about. It’s about improving on last season.”
Other Topics
- Dundee and managing in Scotland (including the crazy 5-3 victory over Queens Park)
- Playing career and the importance of looking after injured players
- His route into management
- Nottingham Forest’s win over Liverpool
- Managing at Salford City
- How to help players in intense situations
- League One in general this season
- The trend towards more direct football
- The community feel at Burton Albion and the stadium
- How you build a style of football at a club
To make sure you don’t miss out on future episodes subscribe to the League One Lowdown YouTube page or their Spotify page.
