Wycombe haven’t achieved anything yet, insists Gareth Ainsworth

Posted Sunday, December 15, 2019 by PA

Gareth Ainsworth insisted no one at Wycombe will get ahead of themselves after his side went seven points clear at the top of League One by beating Burton 2-0.

David Wheeler put the hosts ahead at Adams Park after 24 minutes before captain Matt Bloomfield sealed the result in the last minute of normal time.

But despite title rivals Ipswich slipping up against Bristol Rovers to ensure Wycombe will be top at Christmas, Ainsworth will keep his players grounded.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been top on Christmas Day in either League One or Two, and I think this result changes that, so I’m chuffed to bits for the whole football club,” said Ainsworth.

“They’re a tough side, and I think their position is probably a little false. I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Burton and for Nigel Clough – who hasn’t? – and we knew we were going to have to be on it to force them into playing against their natural instincts.

“And we did, especially in the first half. We forced them to go long, which they were uncomfortable with, and that’s allowed us to keep it nice and tight.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the scoreline is if you win. A 1-0 gives you the same reward as a 4-0 and if you’re consistently registering ‘nils’ against you, you’re doing something right.

“We haven’t achieved anything yet, so we’ll be keeping our feet on the ground. And, with the culture we have, it means we’re just as strong at the moment off the pitch as we are on it.”

David Templeton and Jake Buxton went close for Burton but they were unable to prevent a second defeat in a row – and Clough refused to make any excuses for his side despite arriving at the ground late due to traffic.

The Burton boss said: “I’ve been asked a couple of times already if arriving late has hampered us, and the answer is no, it didn’t. Traffic on the M40 was the reason behind the delay, but there’s no excuses from us.

“We haven’t dealt with key moments in the right way today, and when you come here against a side that is riding high on confidence, you’re always going to be up against it.

“The performance overall, no grumbles. We tried to play, we looked good in spells and we certainly had them thinking but we needed a goal, and the creative guys in the team have to take responsibility for that.

“The cross for the first goal needs to be reacted to, and he (Wheeler) is the first to do that – not a white shirt. It’s on details like that that games can change and up to that point we’d by and large frustrated them, so it’s a blow.”