Next Burton Manager Odds: Who could replace Mark Robinson?

EFL pundit Gab Sutton discusses who Burton Albion could turn to next following the departure of Mark Robinson.

It’s going to be fascinating to see which direction Burton Albion go in with this next appointment.

Nordic Football Group outlined a clear stylistic and developmental vision when they came into the club in the summer, and I don’t suppose they’ll be wanting to halt those plans over 11 games.

At the same time, they would have expected to have accumulated more than a mere four points so far, and to have registered their first win by now; failure to do so leaves them seven points off safety, and eight points off Northampton, who I feel are more realistically catchable than Leyton Orient.

Indeed, it’s looking increasingly as if only one of the Cobblers, Shrewsbury, Cambridge, Crawley and Burton will stay up: Stevenage and Bristol Rovers look a notch above the bottom sides, while the likes of Mansfield and Exeter have already assembled healthy points tallies.

With that in mind, time already is of the essence, even only a quarter of the way into the season – and Burton can’t leave it much longer to start picking up points, otherwise the gap to safety will extend into double figures.

The East Staffordshire outfit have immediate relegation rivals in Cambridge, Crawley and Shrewsbury coming up, and a reasonable points tally of five or more from those crunch clashes is a must.

So, there’s the long-term picture which is continuing to produce an attractive style of play, and develop players for the club to sell on.

Then, there’s the short-term picture which doing whatever it takes to get results tomorrow – figuratively and literally.

As such, this is a tricky appointment that requires appointing somebody who is stylistically aspirational and has a vision for how they want to move forward, whilst being realistic enough to know what’s likeliest to deliver results right now.

Those two tasks aren’t entirely contradictory, though, because with 23 players coming in and the same number offloaded in the summer (including departing loans), it’s a squad that’s been built for football on the deck.

So, if Burton start bypassing technician Elliot Watt in midfield and hoofing it to slender striker Danilo Orsi, that won’t get them many results either.

As such, it’s a case of keeping some of the positive elements of the game that Mark Robinson implemented, whilst introducing a touch more solidity without the ball and ironing out some of those errors.

It’s a fine balancing act, but Adam Hinshelwood is used to allying aesthetics with efficiency, as a successful non-league manager with a good reputation for style and development, having achieved promotions with Worthing and led York to second in the National League.

Alternatively, Brian Barry-Murphy is a coach with immense potential, as he showed in difficult circumstances at Rochdale, earning work with Manchester City EDS, where he’s won PL2s and developed some of the top talent in world football.

The question, though, as it was for Robinson, is whether BBM can thrive in the competitive world of first-team football, as opposed to the more forgiving developmental sphere.

A middle-ground option could be Dean Holden, who has vast experience as an assistant, including in the Championship with Bristol City and Stoke.

The Mancunian took charge of the former for a spell and was dismissed, perhaps harshly, midway through 2020/21, at a time when he had a 49% win ratio despite a horrific injury crisis, in which at least eight players were missing from match-day squads and sometimes, that number was as high as 17.

Holden also had a stint at Charlton, overseeing gradual improvement after taking charge midway through 2022/23, before losing his job five games into the following campaign despite some encouraging performances and another raft of injuries.

So, if the 44-year-old can work with the right sports science department in his next job, and earn a bit more patience, he should translate a successful coaching career – in which he currently assists Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq – into management. 

The Mancunian’s belief is in creating a positive environment which empowers players and staff to flourish, and perform at their best every day: he’ll feel he can bring that to the Pirelli.

As such, Holden could be the halfway house between idealism and pragmatism that Burton need.