More of the same, demands skipper

ANOTHER knock-out tie awaits Athletic on Saturday, when Burton Albion come to Boundary Park for what is the third in a sequence of seven home games in the next nine.

Captain Dean Furman sat out last season's FA Cup first-round debacle at Accrington Stanley as manager Paul Dickov rang the changes by also resting Kieran Lee.

It is not a ploy the manager is likely to repeat, particularly given the emphasis placed on gaining momentum in the cups this term.

The Brewers contest represents a good chance to progress towards a possible and much-needed lucrative third-round tie.

To get past this first hurdle, though, Athletic may have to calm the likes of Billy Kee, a striker in red-hot form thanks to eight goals in his last nine appearances.

Said Furman: “It is vital we approach the Burton game in the same manner that we started against Crewe and that we showed in the second half.

“They are in good form and have a striker in Billy Kee who looks sharp and is scoring goals at the moment.

“So we have to give them the respect they are due.

“But it is important we approach the game with the same mentality we would a league game.

“Again, we want to do well in the FA Cup this year for the club, the fans and the players.”

Alex Cisak and James Wesolowski will need no introduction to former Leicester City trainee Kee, having spent time together at the Midlands club along with Athletic’s assistant manager Gerry Taggart.

Northern Ireland under-21 international Kee (20) — nursing a slight groin strain at present — is not the only Burton forward who has found the back of the net with regularity in 2011-12.

Ex-Port Vale man Justin Richards, back in training after suffering a back injury, has registered 10 goals in 15 starts to help push the club to the cusp of the npower League Two play-off positions.

If Richards doesn’t make it, a familiar name to Athletic fans may keep his place in the side.

Calvin Zola spent a season at Boundary Park under Brian Talbot on loan from Newcastle eight years ago as a teenager and has since turned out for Tranmere and Crewe before making the move to the Pirelli Stadium in June.

However, Zola is also undergoing treatment at the moment due to a pulled hamstring.