Patrick Schmidt believes he will play a part in Barnsley’s battle against relegation and have more moments like his late winner at Millwall.

The 21-year-old striker, who signed last summer, has played 21 games for the Reds, but his only starts have been in Gerhard Struber’s first match at Blackburn Rovers in November then at Derby County on January 2. His two goals have been a consolation strike in the 4-2 home defeat to Stoke City in November then an injury-time winner at Millwall in December.

Since then, he has made five league appearances for three, 15, four, seven and three minutes. He has played fewer Championship minutes than fellow Austrian Michael Sollbauer who only signed a month ago and has made four league appearances.

Schmidt told the Chronicle: “I feel I will have more moments like Millwall. You want to make an impact and score a goal, which is the best feeling. I work hard and wait for those moments. Sometimes it is only a few minutes but every week I am thinking ‘it could be this game that I win for the team again’. The memories of games like Millwall give me a lot of confidence.”

He added: “I haven’t had as many starts as I would hope. But it’s alright. The most important thing for me is that we get points. I want to play more but, even if I just play four for five minutes, I feel I can make an impact. Even watching the team play with passion makes me feel good. The gaffer is very good at making sure everyone feels like part of the team. 

“He says he knows about my quality but the Championship defenders are very physical. I am always in the gym, even on days off. I need to win more battles and have more presence in aerial duels.”

Schmidt is hoping to repeat the survival of previous club Admira Wacker in the Austrian Bundesliga last season.  He said: "Last year we were nearly in the same situation.  We had a new gaffer in November.  We were six points behind second-bottom. We had a good run of wins and changed it around then stayed up with one game left.  I will never forget those kind of feelings and I hope we achieve the same at this club, because I know what it means for the players.”

Schmidt came off the bench in the 3-0 win at Fulham on Saturday which cut the gap between Barnsley and safety from nine to six points.  He said: “Before the Fulham game, a lot of people thought we were relegated but I hope they believe in us again.  “We know we are good players, we just need to show it consistently.  It is a big challenge but we need to accept it and get points.”