[themaclad]

Burton Albion have appointed Chelsea development squad boss Mark Robinson as their new head coach.

The 57-year-old replaces Martin Paterson, whose departure was confirmed last month having only been appointed in January.

Robinson was previously AFC Wimbledon boss for just over a year before leaving in March 2022 with the club in the bottom three of League One.

After being sacked by the Dons, he was appointed by Chelsea as head of their development squad in May 2022.

As boss of Chelsea's under-21 side, he guided them to two top four finishes in the Premier League 2 table.

His appointment at Burton follows the Nordic Football Group's takeover of the east Staffordshire club, with Ole Jakob Strandhagen becoming chairman and Fleur Robinson, daughter of former owner Ben, named as chief executive.

Bendik Hareide, who is the son of former Manchester City, Norwich City and Denmark midfielder Age Hareide, has taken up the post of sporting director following the change of ownership.

Hareide said Robinson "fits well" with the club and was what the new owners desired.

"Mark brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in developing players and teams, which aligns perfectly with our vision for Burton Albion," added Hareide.

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Robinson said he was "extremely proud to have been given this opportunity" and was "excited" by the new owners' plans for the club.

"I want to create a team that is enjoyable to watch, aggressive, and energetic, one that the fans and town feel they can really get behind and be proud to represent them," he told the club website.

“We want to combine the team’s success with the development of young players, something that I have been committed to throughout the last two decades as a coach."

Robinson will take over a Burton side that finished 20th in the third tier, just two points clear of the drop zone.

The relegation near miss came after years of battling campaigns to avoid the drop.

Dino Maamria steered them to safety in 2022-23 after working as assistant to former Netherlands and Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who returned for a second spell at Burton in January 2021 and helped them stay up after taking the job when they were bottom of the table.

Robinson, a former Fulham youth player who had his career on the pitch curtailed by injuries, moved into coaching with Wimbledon in 2004 and helped establish their academy.

He filled various roles during 18 years with the Dons before stepping up to take charge of the first team after the sacking of Glyn Hodges in January 2021. He took charge for 70 games, with 18 wins, 29 losses and 23 draws.

Robinson will be joined at Burton by Tom Hounsell, who leaves Fulham's academy to take up the assistant head coach role at the Brewers.

Strength and conditioning coach Elliott Axtell also joins Burton's backroom staff from Chelsea's development squad.

[themaclad]

League One bottom side Burton Albion have sacked head coach Mark Robinson following a run of seven successive defeats in all competitions.

Robinson, 58, left his previous job as Chelsea's development squad boss to become Burton head coach in June.

But he won only one of his 14 games in charge - in the EFL Trophy - and the club's Scandinavian owners decided change was necessary following Tuesday's 3-2 home loss to Wycombe Wanderers.

The Brewers are bottom of the League One table with four points from 11 games, already 11 points from safety.

Robinson was the first appointment made by Burton's new owners - the Nordic Football Group - when the Sweden-based consortium took control of the east Staffordshire club in the summer.

Sporting director Bendik Hareide, who is among those who now holds 'significant interest' in Burton, said they had "great regret over the fact that this has not worked out in the way any of us would have wanted".

He told the club website: "We have to be objective with our decision-making, and we feel we have reached a point where a change is necessary to improve the team’s results.

“We believe we have a talented squad, and we remain committed to our football strategy. Now is the time to re-group and look to deliver a positive season for our fantastic supporters."

A British-record 23 signings were made in a single transfer window, with a total of 47 player movements at Burton over the summer as 24 on the books at the end of last season were moved on.

He was to oversee an entirely new way of playing at a club invested in developing exciting talent.

Hareide told BBC Sport earlier in the season: "Mark Robinson was recruited because he matches the style of play, and these players that the club has acquired matches Robbo's way of playing football."

Robinson accepted the task was a challenging one as "the pieces have to fit together", but he felt the new owners' "realistic approach" would mean "there will be time" to make it work.

"You hear a lot about ‘this is what we want to do and how we want to do it’, but as soon as they face a little bit of adversity, everyone panics and they do completely the opposite," he told BBC Sport last month.

But the winless league start is the sort of adversity NFG have not been able to ignore.

Robinson becomes the shortest serving permanent boss Burton have had, having been at the helm for just 14 matches.

He is also the latest Burton head coach to pay with his job after a poor start to the season.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Dino Maamria both failed to make it to Christmas in the past two seasons with the Brewers struggling low down the table.

Tom Hounsell, who left Fulham's academy in the summer to move to Burton as Robinson's assistant, has stepped up as interim boss.

John Brayford, a club great who retired as a player with Burton to move into coaching at the club, is among the backroom staff who will continue in their at the club

Former Chelsea academy coach Robinson was head-hunted by the Nordic Football Group because of his coaching ability and tasked with changing the way Burton played.

He did that, but was unable to produce the results that are even more important than performances once you get into the heat of the campaign.

Defeat to Wycombe in front of a crowd of just 1,993 was the last straw for the owners who have a long-term plan for the club which clearly doesn’t include relegation to League Two in their first season.

While Robinson’s departure is hardly a surprise given the Brewers’ record this season – the timing is interesting with their next three league games coming against the sides immediately above them in the table.