‘Losing to Portsmouth won’t define us - they’re top for a reason’: Burton Albion manager’s verdict

The new man at the helm for the Brewers acknowledged Danny Cowley’s men are setting a strong pace in League One for a reason, after their 2-0 defeat.

And Maamria can see why that’s the case, after two second-half goals saw the Blues keep up their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Despite being bottom of the table, Burton presented Pompey with plenty to think about and created plenty of openings.

Maamria liked what he saw from his players while acknowledging the strength of the opposition.

He told Burton’s official site: ‘I wanted to see the team play with energy, with passion, play on the front foot and I think everyone walked away from the ground seeing that these boys gave everything they have got.

‘The subs that came on helped us push forward and hopefully our fans can see what Sam Winnall and Mustapha Carayol will give us going forward.

‘I thought Ciaran Gilligan was outstanding on his first start and he epitomises what Burton Albion is all about.

‘Overall, as a team we gave everything but unfortunately didn’t get the result and we are disappointed with that but losing against Portsmouth won’t define us as a team.

‘There are certain games we have to win, and we know that Portsmouth are a very good team who are right at the top of the league for a reason.’

Tom Hughes’ own goal proved a key moment as he turned Marlon Pack’s cross into his own net 14 minutes after the restart.

Maamria felt there was little Hughes could do, but saw evidence his team are capable of turning their fortunes around.

He added: ‘We had good chances to score, and their first goal was unfortunate. Stuff like that will happen and we have to be resilient and stay level-headed.

‘We need to keep improving and I know what we need to work on on the training ground.

‘The main thing tonight was that we saw a team that was full of energy and had the desire to win.

‘Our fans were outstanding, and I love the energy in the stadium and that’s something we need to build on. That atmosphere was what Burton Albion is about and that’s what we want to bring back.’