MANAGER Paul Peschisolido has hailed the example being set by his new captain, John McGrath, as Burton Albion aim to extend their unbeaten run to five matches at Cheltenham Town tonight (7.45pm).

Midfield general McGrath has been the largely unsung hero for the Brewers since taking over the armband from Guy Branston, when the centre-half was loaned to Torquay United for the rest of the season.

Burton have won three and drawn one of the four games since Branston's departure and while Peschisolido insists he sets no great store by who leads the team out, he acknowledges that it matters to McGrath.

"He's the type of character who it would mean a lot to," said Peschisolido.

"He leads by example, although he did that when he wasn't captain, too.

"Even though he's 30, he listens and still wants to learn. He still wants to play at as high a level as he can.

"He's just the same in training as he is in matches – his work-rate is phenomenal in both.

"Some people perhaps don't realise just how much he does off the ball. He breaks up so many attacks.

"He never shirks a challenge and he's a neat and tidy footballer as well. In short, he's inspirational."

McGrath may well lead out an unchanged Burton side tonight for what would be a fourth match in a row.

The manager, as usual, will not confirm that ahead of the game but, yesterday, he admitted there were no injuries that would prevent him doing so.

What might dictate a change is if Peschisolido and his assistant, Gary Rowett, feel that three games in seven days – Burton play again on Friday night, at home to Crewe Alexandra – will be a stretch for some of the team.

They were certainly stretched physically to keep up with an agile Port Vale side on their way to a 1-0 win at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.

"There have been no new injuries from the weekend but Gary and I will be looking at their energy levels in training," said Peschisolido.

"We don't use Pro-Zone stats but it doesn't take a genius to work out if someone is fit enough.

"We'll be asking, 'Can they all give the same again as they did on Saturday?' because that's what we'll need from them if we are to get three more points at Cheltenham."

With the team playing so well and options on the bench, there will be no rushed return for full-backs Richard Jackson and Paul Boertien, who have been sidelined by calf and thigh problems respectively.

Both were running in training yesterday, as was club captain Darren Stride, but none of them are likely to feature tonight.