Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough revealed he was 'thrilled' to see his team end their long wait for a home victory after defeating Derby County 3-1.

The Brewers had not won at the Pirelli Stadium since September, a run of 17 games. Currently edging towards relegation to League One, the Midlands outfit put on an excellent showing as they dismissed of the Rams with ease with goals from Liam Boyce, Luke Murphy and Lucas Akins .

'We got a few breaks today'

Talking after the game, the former Derby boss believes that Burton have been better on home soil than the form book suggests.

He said: "We felt as though we’ve deserved a home victory in the past six or seven weeks, against the likes of Millwall, Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Forest. We didn’t get our break, but we got a few breaks today through hard work so I was thrilled in the end.

"The only thing that restricts us is this terrible home record that we’ve had, and we’ve not won for I don’t know how long. We’d forgotten that feeling. We forgot how good it feels to come in. The players are a little bit quiet in there and I seriously can’t remember the last time that they’ve done that.

"I think then you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the players. We hadn’t won at home for 17 games and to come out and put on a performance like that is a great credit to them," Clough continued.

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'We just aim to win the last three games'

Despite their victory, the Brewers remain firmly in the relegation zone and one of the favourites for the drop. The gap to survival is now five points but Clough believes that the victory over Derby could be a platform for the final few games and even for next season.

"It’s important to get the home win whatever league we’re in next season. We’ve got that monkey off our back," Clough said. "Now our aim is to just try and make the others play, to get enough points on the board so that the others have to do something before the end of the season."

"We just aim to win the last three games. It probably won’t be enough but you never know, stranger things happen in football. We’ll just try and win at Sunderland next week and see if the picture changes after that game."

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About the author
Daniel Orme
A Sports Journalist with a passion for football and Leicester City.