Burton Albion Football Club

Manager happy with squad after adding Gray and Alexander

Burton Albion manager Gary Rowett was pleased with his dealings on Friday’s transfer deadline day, and believes the additions will benefit the team.

Rowett signed experienced striker Gary Alexander, whilst Stevenage full-back David Gray was added to the squad 45 minutes before the deadline.

Midfielder Jack Dyer was also recalled from his loan spell at Kidderminster Harriers, whilst Adam Buxton returned to Wigan Athletic.

“I’m pleased with how it went. We managed to get two good players in, both of whom will get up to speed with what we want and give us extra in certain areas.

“It’s important that they’re permanent deals, which allows us to exploit the loan market when that re-opens if we need to.

“Overall, they’ll come to the end of season as part of it and if we’re fortunate enough to get into the play-offs or beyond they’ll be with us for the whole period, so we haven’t got to worry about deals expiring,” Rowett said.

Alexander brings experience to Albion’s attack, and Rowett believes both he and Gray can have a positive effect.

“Gary Alexander will be a good player for us. With him and David (Gray) coming in, they’ve not played that much football recently so we’ll need to get them up to speed fitness wise, and I think they’ll be very good for us,” said Rowett.

Gray’s signing increases the numbers in the Brewers defence, with Rowett looking to increase depth and competition for places at the back.

“Adam Buxton has gone back, and we wanted to add some competition. Phil Edwards can play anywhere across the back line as well, so I thought it was important to increase numbers in that area.

“David’s a really good player who we’ve watched a lot. We spoke to him in the summer and I think he’ll add to what we’ve got here,” added Rowett.

Dyer was recalled from his loan spell at Kidderminster Harriers, with Rowett looking to add to his squad depth for last Saturday’s game with Exeter City.

“We weren’t sure how many bodies we’d have available for today. We were told that that they weren’t going to extend his loan so we brought him back a day early to have another player available.

“He’s our player so we might as well have him around to use. He’s quite pleased to be back in the fold, ready to work hard.

“I’m pleased with the business we did. It was a busy day and I think we’ll be stronger for it for the remaining games.”