 Buxton playing forDerby County in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jake Fred Buxton[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1985-03-04)4 March 1985 (age 40)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sutton-in-Ashfield, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Alfreton Town (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Mansfield Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2008 | Mansfield Town | 151 | (5) |
| 2003 | →Alfreton Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Burton Albion | 40 | (0) |
| 2009–2016 | Derby County | 139 | (11) |
| 2016–2017 | Wigan Athletic | 39 | (1) |
| 2017–2020 | Burton Albion | 87 | (1) |
| Total | 461 | (18) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2020 | Burton Albion | ||
| 2025– | Alfreton Town | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:12, 19 December 2020 (UTC) | |||
Jake Fred Buxton (born 4 March 1985) is an English former professionalfootballer andmanager who played as adefender. He is currently manager ofAlfreton Town.
His playing career consisted of spells atMansfield Town from 2002 to 2008, with a loan period atAlfreton Town in 2003. He then moved toBurton Albion for the 2008–09 season, before joiningDerby County in 2009 where he stayed until 2016. He then spent the 2016–17 season atWigan Athletic before moving toBurton Albion in 2017.
He was namedplayer-manager for Burton Albion in May 2020 before being dismissed in December 2020 this also coincided with the end of his playing career. He later worked as a coach inDerby County's academy where he was lead coach for the club's under-18 team, and from July 2023 to June 2025 he was the club's under-21 lead coach. In 2025 he was appointed manager ofAlfreton Town.
Born inSutton-in-Ashfield,Nottinghamshire,[1] Buxton came up through the youth system at Mansfield, winning the Youth Team Player of the Year award in 2002,[2] and made his first-team debut in October 2002 in aEFL Trophy match againstCrewe Alexandra.[3] However, it was not until the 2004–05 season that he established himself as a regular member of the first team and his form was rewarded with a new one-year contract in February 2005.[4] In April 2006, Buxton signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract,[5] and was made team captain,[6] one of the youngest in the country, during the 2006–07 season.[2]
By the end of the 2007–08 season, he had played over 160 first-team games for Mansfield, scoring five goals.[7] After Mansfield Town were relegated to theFootball Conference at the end of the 2007–08 season, he was out of contract but was offered new terms by the club.[8] Following a takeover of the club and change of manager, Buxton was released by mutual consent after expressing his desire to stay in the Football League.[9]
After leaving Mansfield, Buxton had a trial spell withCrewe,[10] but Crewe decided not to sign him so he joinedBurton Albion in August 2008 on a free transfer.[11]Buxton's performances at Burton earned him rave reviews as he helped the Brewers to theConference National title, and he was named Player of the Month for November 2008.[12] He won the club's annual player of the year award and attracted much interest from league clubs.
At the end of the2008–09 season, Buxton signed a one-year contract, with an option of a one-year extension, to rejoin former managerNigel Clough[13] atChampionship sideDerby County when his contract withBurton expired at the end of June 2009.[14] Buxton made his Derby début on 8 August 2009, playing the full 90 minutes as Derby beatPeterborough United 2–1 at home, Buxton getting an assist forMiles Addison's goal. His first goal for Derby came in their 2–1 victory at home toPlymouth Argyle on 22 August. After playing the first six games of the season, an injury in the sixth, a 3–2 defeat atNottingham Forest, saw Buxton undergo an operation for a hernia.[15][16] Despite being ruled out for several weeks, Buxton was fit enough to feature on the bench ten days later,[17] and later played 90 minutes for the reserves.[18] However, he then picked up a groin strain[19] and was ruled out for several more weeks.[20] In December, Derby took up the option of a one-year extension to his contract.[21] After being out for three months through injury,[22] Buxton returned to the starting eleven on 26 December in a 2–0 defeat toBlackpool, in what would be his first of six consecutive starts for Derby. He finished the season with 24 starts in all competitions, describing his first full season for the club as "a dream come true."[23]
During the 2011 close season, Buxton underwent groin surgery which ruled him out for four to six weeks and meant he missed the majority of Derby's pre-season campaign.[24] He returned to action as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 win for a Derby County XI against former club Burton Albion in theBass Charity Vase final on 28 July 2012.[25] He then injured his back, ruling him out of the start of the2010–11 season before undergoing back surgery to clear up the injuries which had forced him out of the first team picture for seven months.[26] He returned to first team action four months later with an 89th-minute substitute appearance in a 1–0 win atSheffield United on 27 February 2011, which would prove to be his only first-team appearance of the campaign.
Derby made a strong start the2011–12 season, featuring in the play-off spots for the first three months of the campaign. However, a sharp decline in form from November onwards, coupled with a season-ending injury toShaun Barker, allowed Buxton the opportunity to cement a place in the Derby starting eleven and he appeared in the majority of Derby's fixtures from November onwards. He even earned cult status amongst the Derby support with a stoppage-time winner in theEast Midlands derby at home toNottingham Forest to earn Derby a first leaguedouble over their archrivals in 40 years.[27] Buxton was eventually rewarded with a two-year extension to his contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2014.[28]
Ahead of the2012–13 season, Buxton was placed as Derby's most experience available defender following the sale ofJason Shackell toBurnley and the injury to Barker, and Nigel Clough stated his faith in Buxton's ability to become a first team regular atChampionship level,[29] Buxton opened the season with three goals in two games, with a brace in a 5–5 League Cup draw withScunthorpe United[30] and a strike in the opening league game againstSheffield Wednesday.[31] Buxton spent the start of the season in and out of the starting line-up, competing with new signingJames O'Connor to start alongside captainRichard Keogh, a battle Buxton was winning until he was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 3–0 loss atPeterborough United on 27 October 2012.[32] After several games on the bench after his suspension, Buxton returned to the starting before being ruled out for two months after picking up a knee injury following his goal in a 3–1 win againstLeeds United.[33] Buxton returned to first team action in a 2–2 draw atSheffield Wednesday[34] and was praised for his courage by Clough after he was forced to start at short notice due to an injury picked up byMark O'Brien in the pre-match warm-up.[35] Buxton retained his place in the starting line-up alongside Keogh and scored his fifth goal of the season with an 88th-minute winner in a 2–1 win at Leeds United on 1 April.[36] Later on in the month, Buxton signed a new two-year contract.[37]
Despite losing his squad number of 5, Buxton was considered to be the first choice centre back for2013–14, as Shaun Barker and Mark O'Brien were still recovering from knee injuries.[38]
On 30 June 2014, Jake Buxton signed a new three-year contract withDerby County, which would see him stay at the club until the end of the 2016/17 season.[39] Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Buxton regained his number 5 shirt following the continued absence of Shaun Barker.
On 26 July 2016, Buxton joined newly promoted sideWigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee and signed a three-year contract.[40] He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 1–0 win atWolverhampton Wanderers on 14 February 2017. He left Wigan on 20 June 2017 when he agreed to mutually terminate his contract to move back to Nottinghamshire.[41]
On 28 June 2017, Buxton rejoined Burton Albion.[42] He was offered a new contract by the club at the end of the 2017–18 season, following their relegation.[43]
On 18 May 2020, Buxton was appointed as player-manager of Burton Albion, following the resignation of previous managerNigel Clough.[44][45]
On 29 December 2020, Buxton was sacked after two wins in 21 games in the league and the Brewers rock bottom, six points off safety in League One.
After leaving Burton, Buxton started work in theDerby County Academy as a Professional Development Phase Coach, in October 2022 he started work as the club's under-18 lead coach. Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Buxton was appointed the clubs under-21 lead coach on 26 July 2023 after a restructuring of the Derby's academy.[46] In February 2025, Buxton worked as an assistant head coach to caretaker managerMatt Hamshaw.[47] In June 2025 Buxton was appointed Senior Transition Coach for Derby County's first team, a role where he would help players in transition from academy football to first-team football.[48] He was appointed manager ofAlfreton Town in October 2025.[49]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mansfield Town | 2002–03[3] | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003–04[50] | Third Division | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2004–05[51] | League Two | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 2005–06[52] | 39 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07[53] | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08[54] | 40 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 46 | 2 | ||
| Total | 151 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 174 | 5 | ||
| Alfreton Town (loan) | 2003–04[55] | NPL-Premier Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Burton Albion | 2008–09[56] | Conference Premier | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| Derby County | 2009–10[57] | Championship | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| 2010–11[58] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12[59] | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13[60] | 31 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 5 | ||
| 2013–14[61] | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 52 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15[62] | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3 | ||
| 2015–16[63] | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 139 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 159 | 13 | ||
| Wigan Athletic | 2016–17[64] | Championship | 39 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 1 |
| Burton Albion | 2017–18[65] | Championship | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 2018–19[66] | League One | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| 2019–20[67] | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
| Total | 87 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 99 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 461 | 18 | 30 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 522 | 20 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Burton Albion | 19 May 2020 | 29 December 2020 | 27 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 007.41 |
| Total | 27 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 007.41 | ||
Burton Albion
Individual
