CAMERON McGeehan says the ‘pain and suffering’ during the first months of the season were worth it as he helped Barnsley to promotion.
The 24-year-old midfielder was mainly a substitute until October but, following an injury to Kenny Dougall, was a regular for the remainder of the campaign and was included in the League One Team of the Year.
It is a real turnaround for McGeehan who signed from Luton Town two years ago and was still recovering from a broken leg in his first season which saw him struggled to play regularly for the Reds in the Championship and League One Scunthorpe United while on loan.
McGeehan said: “Barnsley fans didn’t see me much last year, I only played a little bit and I wasn’t fully fit.
“Now I have shown what I am capable of but I have a lot more to come and to give in the Championship.
“I got in the team eventually and kept my place ever since.
“Deep within me I have a lot of belief in myself. I know it will happen for me in the end if I work hard.
“I wasn’t sure if that was going to be at Barnsley because there were days when I could come home after being an unused sub and it would be painful like Plymouth at home and Peterbrough away. That gave me pain and suffering but it’s given me a bit of edge to my game and I will never forget what that feels like to watch other players play when you want to.
“It’s been a long road to get to this point but I am happy to be here. You do doubt yourself but the manager always believed in me and it worked out in the end.”
Barnsley finished in League One’s second promotion place behind champions Luton, his previous club.
He said: “If I could pick one team to go up with us, it would be Luton.
“They have had a great season and I’m happy for them. They have probably surprised themselves and taken the momentum from last season.
“Hopefully we can emulate them next season by going up again after the first promotion. We want to start well and kick on from there.”
McGeehan made six starts and came off the bench three times for Barnsley in the Championship last season.
He said: “I had a taste of it last season. There is a lot of quality but we have a lot of quality as well.
“Hopefully we can keep the team together and have a real good bash at it.
“You have massive derbies like Sheffield Wednesday.
“Hopefully we can get good results and be more competitive than we were last time we were there.”
