MAEL de Gevigney says his bizarre own goal in Barnsley’s previous home game has not had a lasting impact.
The French defender scored in his own net in the Good Friday game with Cambridge United as his backpass went past goalkeeper Liam Roberts, before the Reds suffered a 2-0 defeat.
He told the Chronicle: “When you are a defender or goalkeeper, you will make a mistake in your career. It’s part of the game. I just have to keep my head up and I am doing that since the Cambridge game. It was a little disagreement between me and Robbo. That’s not what changed the game, we have to do better.
“After the mistake, I did my job like I do every game. It’s not going to affect me. I am focused. I am lucky to have the gaffer behind me. He is pushing me every game and telling me what to do.”
De Gevigney, who has started the last 33 league games, is currently in a back three with Jamie McCart and Josh Earl after January signing Donovan Pines was ruled out for the season with a thigh injury.
“It’s very disappointing for him, coming from the US to play in England and being injured after four games. But he’s mentally strong and will come back soon. It changes the way we defend.
“He was a really good player, covering a lot of space and really strong in the fight. But we have to adapt to what we have. Jamie has been really good too in the middle. He’s a different kind of player but we like to play together.”
The Reds look likely to finish in the League One play-off places.
De Gevigney said: “It could be my first play-offs.
“We maybe have to go through this to achieve our objective of promotion, so I am really excited about this.
“Wembley is an unbelievable stadium where so many good players played.
“Unfortunately last year the players lost the final but maybe this time we will do it.”
Barnsley have collected just eight points from their last eight games and the gap to seventh has shrunk to six points. He said: “The mood is not the best we have had since the beginning of the season, it’s a bit of frustration.
“But we are still positive. We are still in a good position to achieve our objectives.”
He added: “We have been conceding too many goals. We have to be more aggressive, more tough, concentrate and be more confident – maybe that is the thing that changed. We had not been beaten for a really long time but now we have been and we need to say confident.
“It’s not as bad as we can hear all around us. Maybe we had amazing results and that’s why everyone wants us to win every game.
“We have to feel the public are behind us. We really need them.
“We have a really important game that we have to win to keep our position.
“I think we will be OK.”
