‘All I can see for myself at the moment is being in a Barnsley shirt’ is top-scorer Cauley Woodrow’s message ahead of the January transfer window.
The 25-year-old striker is expected to attract interest along with Reds captain Alex Mowatt. Woodrow told the Chronicle: “I see myself here all season, for sure. January is not even here but we’re all doing well so there probably will be some interest. But, at the same time, I am happy here and my main focus is helping us get out of the position we are in. I enjoy playing here, I am playing most weeks and that’s the main thing for any player. All I can see for myself at the moment is being in a Barnsley shirt.”
Woodrow is confident the Reds can close the four-point gap to his former club Luton Town, who are fourth-bottom. He said: “A lot of the teams have started off on a flyer then they are dropping off, but we are picking up a bit now. Hopefully soon we will catch them and we will be out of the relegation zone.”
Woodrow won and scored a penalty to make it 4-2 against QPR on Saturday with Barnsley eventually winning 5-3. He said: “I was definitely confident. I take penalties pretty much every day in training and always do the same routine. When I stepped up, I knew I would score. We should have had a couple of penalties already in that game. I knew it was a big moment in the game and that we would probably go on to win if I scored.
“We were disappointed to let in three. Throughout the season, scoring has not been our problem, it has been conceding. But it’s not just the defenders’ fault, it is us as a team. We concede from set plays and all sorts of different scenarios. It was really important to get a win ahead of the Christmas period and hopefully we can get a little bit of form going into that. If, next week, we can score five and not concede any – that would be great.”
The penalty was Woodrow’s ninth goal of the season while Conor Chaplin, who scored a hat-trick against QPR, now has seven. He said: “I am really pleased. It’s nice to be on the scoresheet and to keep getting the goals. I was buzzing for Conor as well, he’s a great lad and it was his first hat-trick. I haven’t got a hat-trick in my career so I am a bit jealous. But he’s been excellent.”
Woodrow has been playing in attacking midfield behind Chaplin and Jacob Brown in Gerhard Struber’s 4-4-2 diamond. “It’s been good, a little bit different. I played there in academy football but as a professional I have been up front. “This position suits me because I like to get the ball to my feet. The manager has obviously seen that and it’s worked out well at times. At other times he has put me back up front if we are changing our shape. I am enjoying the position he has put me in and hopefully it can continue.”
