Burgess on frustrations, patience, his 'second debut' and bid to prove his worth at Town

The centre-half went nearly three months without a single appearance for the Blues before coming into the team in place of injury victim George Edmundson, with Burgess slotting in nicely during both the 2-0 victory over Lincoln and 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.

Signed from Accrington in the summer, Burgess has been roundly praised by manager Kieran McKenna and his team-mates for the way he handled his time out of the side, with the man himself just pleased to have the opportunity to prove his worth again.

“It was like making your debut again a little bit because I’d not played for a little while,” he said of his return. “It was great to get back out there.

“That’s why you work hard at training, to get your chance and when you get your chance, it’s up to you to keep your place. It’s as simple as that. Hopefully I can get a run of games now and do well enough to stay in the team.

"With the environment the staff have come in and created, even though it’s not nice to not playing, you still feel part of it.

“It’s strange because you’re frustrated at not playing but you’re still really happy with being involved and training hard. The training’s good and you know when your chance does come, you’re ready for it.

“Sometimes it is frustration that you’re not playing, everyone wants to play, but the environment every day is a special one and probably one of the best that I’ve been involved in, that’s for sure.

“It’s all the staff, it’s all the players, it’s the group we’ve got. It’s the characters we’ve got through the staff, through the players, through everybody at the training ground.

“Day-in, day-out, you keep your frustrations at bay, train hard, work hard and you know you’ll get a chance.”

Town have been rock-solid at the back following McKenna’s arrival, keeping 11 clean sheets in 15 games and conceding just a single goal in a nine-game unbeaten spell.

“It’s been pretty impressive to watch," Burgess said, when asked if he felt under pressure as he came into such a strong area of the side. "It’s special to see and special to be a part of.”

“That’s the way we’ve been going and what we’ve been aiming to do in every game and long may it continue.

“I think the pressure comes from trying to get the results really. I don’t think it’s anything on my part, it’s just for the whole team. The pressure comes from each and every game, we want to win each and every game, that’s the be all and end all of it.”

Asked for the secret to the Blues’ success at the back, Burgess said: “It’s nothing weird and wonderful, just working hard and doing the right things on the training ground and real attention to detail.

“That’s probably the biggest one, the attention to detail that we go through as a team. The information the staff give us and how the boys take it on board and do things, doing their jobs to the letter. That’s all I can say really.

Cameron Burgess and Ronan Curtis battle for the advantage. (Image: © Copyright Stephen Waller)

“The level of detail is second-to-none, I will say that. I’ve been at clubs across different levels and there are different ways of doing things.

“There’s no right or wrong way, but with this group of lads they respond well to it and all I can say is that the detail is second to none and it works for us.

“It’s the whole team. It starts from everywhere, every aspect we look at and we work on and it’s not just us at the back. It’s not just Christian (Walton) in goal, everyone is playing their part and everyone’s working well and doing the right things.”

He continued: “I’ll play anywhere, put me up front if you want me to stick me there. I’ve played all last season in a back three (at Accrington). I enjoy playing there.

“All the lads can play anywhere across the back three or a back four, whatever we choose to play. All the lads adapt well, we do the same things regardless of who plays where. Credit to everyone to be able to shuffle around and do different things.

“To get to where we want to get to and play the way we want to play you’ve got to be comfortable with the ball at your feet, and all the lads are. It’s working quite well.”

Burgess comes into the side at a time when Town are still chasing the League One play-offs. It’s a task which became harder following Saturday’s 0-0 draw, which leaves McKenna’s men five points back with eight games remaining.

Burgess hadn't started a Town game since the defeat at Barrow in the FA Cup (Image: PAGEPIX LTD 07976935738)

“I think you know historically what it’s going to take to make the play-offs and all the rest of it and it’s just about plugging away,” he said. “There are a lot of games left.

“We go again and hopefully we can get another win in the next game and just keep going that way, watching the points rack up and see where it leaves us at the end of the season."