Neill Collins admits Barnsley owe their home fans 'a bit more' as they prepare for a match with Shrewsbury Town from 7.45pm tonight.
The third-placed Reds have lost four of their last five home league games including the most recent two with the last being a 1-0 defeat to Blackpool on September 30.
While they are unbeaten away, only Derby County, Fleetwood Town and Cheltenham Town have collected fewer points at home in League One this season than the Reds’ six from six games.
Head coach Neill Collins said: “It’s just great to play at Oakwell in front of our own fans on a brilliant pitch. There are all the ingredients to play at our best. The home form is due to a variety of factors and this game is a chance to win, put on a good performance and start moving forward at home.”
He added: “I hope we put it to bed this week. We’re unbeaten away from home in October which is pretty impressive. We just need to bring some of that form and performances here. We have given our away fans their money’s worth but we owe our home fans a bit more.”
Shrewsbury are currently 15th in League One with 17 points from 13 games. The Shrews finished in mid-table last season then swapped manager Steve Cotterill for Matt Taylor, the former Portsmouth winger.
They won three of their first five league games this season but then did not score in five games which brought one draw and four defeats. They netted a 90th-minute winner in a 1-0 victory over Northampton Town at home then an 88th-minute leveller in a 1-1 draw at Cambridge United.
The Cambridge result ended a run of four straight away losses without scoring but their six games on the road have brought just four points and two goals.
They won 1-0 at home to Derby County on Saturday so are unbeaten in three.
Barnsley head coach Neill Collins said: “It will definitely be tough. No game is straightforward. Derby lost at Shrewsbury and Shrewsbury will come here full of confidence. We need to make sure our players know what strengths these teams bring and one of them is physicality.
“We will have to be physically at our best to match them.
“They are on a very good run. Their performance against Derby will be the most pleasing thing for them. They created an awful lot of chances and were worth their win. They will be feeling good and confident.
“They can play good football but have good physical options at the top end.”
Captain Jordan Williams added: "We expect it to be tight and tough. That is how Shrewsbury want to be and how they play. It’s just about us not getting involved in the scrap. We want to play our type of football, it’s down to us.
"We’ve not been good enough at home. We are still learning and trying to improve. Stick with us and keep backing us. It will come good."
Shrewsbury have centre-back Jason Sraha who was released by Barnsley in the summer, having started twice in the Championship for the relegated Reds at the end of the 2021/22 season before suffering with injuries. He has started the last two games.
Barnsley forward John McAtee began his career at Shrewsbury but made just two substitute appearances before leaving in 2019.
The two clubs have met 44 times, with Barnsley winning 22 and losing 13.
The Reds have won the last three, including the double last season with Adam Phillips netting the only goal in Shropshire in November then the Reds winning 2-1 on Easter Monday thanks to goals by Nicky Cadden – who was later sent off – and Devante Cole. They were both bad-tempered games with confrontations between players and staff.
The Shrews’ 22 trips to Oakwell have brought 16 losses, four draws and two wins in 1971 and 2015, with Hoyland man and ex-Red Jordan Clark netting in the last minute.
