Barnsley striker Oliver McBurnie has been named the Championship Player of the Month for February this morning, while his head coach believes his team-mates will soon join him in finding the back of the net.
The 21-year-old, who signed on the final day of the January transfer window on loan from Swansea City, netted four goals in four starts and one substitute appearance last month. His equalisers in the Yorkshire derbies against Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City as well as his brace in the win at Birmingham City earned the Reds four points.
McBurnie then began March by scoring in the 2-1 loss at Cardiff City on Wednesday and has five of Barnsley's last six goals and all of their last four. He is only three league goals behind top-scorer Tom Bradshaw and is now second top-scorer along with Harvey Barnes, the previous occupant of the number 15 shirt, who has returned to parent club Leicester City.
Head coach Jose Morais has praised McBurnie but admits it is important that other players start scoring. Bradshaw has not netted in 11 matches, Mamadou Thiam is on a 20-game goalless run and Kieffer Moore has one in nine and is the only other player to score for the Reds since January.
No midfielder has scored in a league match in 19 fixtures since Barnes equalised in the 1-1 draw at Norwich City in November. Morais told the Chronicle: "We had some opportunities for us to score without it being only Oli (at Cardiff on Tuesday). Tom Bradshaw missed an opportunity and so did Kieffer.
"We are starting to play as a team and create chances for different actors. I believe in the future Oli will continue to score and some other players will also score and follow his big momentum."
Newspaper reports in Scotland this week claimed that McBurnie, who was born in Leeds but qualifies to play for the Scots, will be part of Alex McLeish's first squad in his second spell as national team manager. They are due to host Costa Rica on March 23 then visit Hungary four days later.
Morais' assistant Dimas, who played 44 games for Portugal including at two European Championships, knows the impact an international call-up can have. He told the Chronicle: "To be called up for the first time by your national team is a big moment for any football player from any country. He is a young boy who is doing well but I think he still has more to show.
"If he does that then I believe he can achieve a lot in football. He's a very intelligent boy and he wants to reach a high level. If he keeps improving he will play many games in the Premier League and in international football. He is scoring goals for us but he knows that they are coming to him through a team effort."
Oliver's award is the first win for the Reds this season after both Conor Hourihane and Sam Winnall won the award last season. McBurnie has as many goals in six matches for Barnsley as he managed previously for all his other league teams, including first club Bradford City, loan clubs Newport County and Bristol Rovers and also Swansea for whom he has played 16 Premier matches. Before joining the Reds, his only EFL goals were a hat-trick for Newport County in 2015.
He played 11 top flight matches for the Swans this season, which he could have spent the majority of at Oakwell if Barnsley had completed the appropriate forms on the August transfer deadline day. His loan team are now 21st in the Championship, two points and one place above the relegation zone with 11 games remaining after winning two of their last 21 matches.
