Burton Albion chairman reveals 'phenomenal' £500,000 windfall from League Cup run

Burton's League Cup run has taken them to the semi-finals, where they face a nine-goal deficit in the second leg against Manchester City
Burton's League Cup run has taken them to the semi-finals, where they face a nine-goal deficit in the second leg against Manchester City Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Burton Albion have secured a £500,000 jackpot for their League Cup heroics.

Ben Robinson, the Burton chairman, has revealed that the League One club’s magical run to the semi-finals has pulled in half a million, as they prepare to face Manchester City’s “goalscoring machine” for the second time.

Burton were thrashed 9-0 by City in the first leg and face another potentially painful night in front of 6,500 people at the Pirelli Stadium on Wednesday night.

Clough has guided the Brewers to the last four after memorable victories over Burnley, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough.

And Robinson has insisted that Burton’s Carabao Cup journey will forever be etched into the club’s history, whatever happens in the second leg.

“We have earned a windfall of around £500,000 and that is a phenomenal amount for a small club like ours,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“It’s a significant sum made up of TV money and gate receipts and it will be so important for our future.

“We will be able to put some of that money towards January signings, supporting the wage bill and stadium improvements.

“We’ve played seven games to get in sight of Wembley and that is a remarkable achievement.”

Burton are planning to put together a special commemorative book for supporters, to honour the club’s run to the last four.

Pep Guardiola’s City will make league cup history if they secure a 12-goal aggregate victory but Robinson is hoping the second leg is less humiliating than the encounter at the Etihad Stadium.

“It was so disappointing in the first game, even though it was always going to be a question of keeping the score down,” he said.

“It was a total mismatch but we weren’t expecting to concede that many. Some of the goals could have been avoided and we actually kept it at 1-0 for quite some time. They are a goalscoring machine and do it most weeks against Premier League teams, let alone a club that is 13th in League One.

“We’re just hoping we can score against them this time and come away with a more respectable result.”

Nigel Clough, the Burton manager, has told his players and the club’s supporters to relish the occasion.

“Manchester City will probably never be here again, and hopefully when they come here they will consider just how we got this far in the competition,” he said.

“Perhaps they will realise the scale of our achievement. This tie would have been over at 4-0 so it’s definitely finished, but we want to try and take some pride out of this.

“Bradford City at home on Saturday is far more important than this one.”

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