Gerhard Struber believes Barnsley’s stunning 3-0 win at high-flying Fulham has set a benchmark which they keep to keep meeting to stay in the Championship this season.

The Reds’ win cut the gap between them and safety to six points, although they remain bottom of the table. 

Struber told the Chronicle: “My boys are very very happy. In the last few weeks we have not had much luck. Today we created a very good performance and it is very very good for our self-confidence. I see in their eyes that they are very happy and they have a good feeling after winning against a massive opponent. Every victory gives us a very good feeling for the next days. This was a benchmark that we have set and we need to play like that for the rest of the season.”

The Reds brought almost 1,500 fans who were loud from the first minute. Struber said: “A big thanks for our fans. They are a big, big help my boys. Their support is unbelievable. I hope we have their support in our stadium against Middlesbrough in the next game.”

Struber was delighted with the response from Tuesday’s 1-0 home loss to Birmingham City. He said:  “We had a very difficult week, the game on Tuesday crashed our energy and it was my job in the last few days to give the boys a good feeling. I told them for three days that we will never give up. The only thing we could do was win today and we went into the game with good feeling and energy and a good plan. 

“We have many talks with the players in the last few days and I hope I can give my boys the feeling that we have the chance to stay in the league, today we had that in every second. We had control and never gave the opponent space and time. It was a very clear victory in the end. 

“It is a very very important victory, it gives us good energy. The gap is six points, we believe and we never give up. I hope we have a kick-off now to stay in the league. When we work with young players – they have ups and downs, today was a big up.  “The opponent’s style to build up from the back played into our strengths. We won a lot of balls and we scored goals.” 

Cauley Woodrow scored two goals and assisted the other against his former club. Struber said: “It was a big day for Cauley. It was his first game back at Fulham and he was very focused. He was unbelievable on the ball and worked very hard against the ball.” 

Woodrow added: “We’re not really shocked, we’re confident in every game we go into. But a lot of people will be looking at that result and saying: ‘what has gone on there?’ We were fantastic, played really, really well and it’s no surprise we won after that performance. To a man, everyone was fantastic and playing at 100 per cent. 

“Everyone was a bit down this week after losing to Birmingham but we went into this game at one of the top teams with nothing to lose and we were outstanding.

“It was mixed emotions because I am delighted to score but I didn’t celebrate out of respect because Fulham have a big place in my heart and if it wasn’t for that football club I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

Jacob Brown got the other goal, ending an 18-match wait for a league strike. Struber said: “It was a very important goal in the game and for Browny. He is a machine who works so hard and never gives up. He is a role model in my team with his attitude. He is a very very good professional and he is going in the right direction.”

Brown said: “It’s up there with one of the best days of my career. It’s been hard for me and the team because the performances have not been as good as they can be and I haven’t scored for a while so to get a win and a goal will help my confidence. 

“The belief has always been there in team even though we have had poor performances. We have been working hard but we needed to cut out mistakes which we did today. We had loads of chances, looked really good going forward and got three goals. 

“In the first half I knew the centre-backs were really high and there was a lot of space in behind. When I saw Cauley get the ball I just ran forward into the space, looked up and the ‘keeper was running at me and got my foot on it. I didn’t know if it was going in or not because it looked a bit slow but when it went in I was buzzing.”