Daniel Stendel is currently a mysterious figure to those outside Oakwell, as his limited English has prevented any media interviews in his first five weeks as head coach, but he is becoming well-known and well-liked within the squad according to his players.
After three weeks of training and two pre-season friendlies, Stendel appears – without making signing so far – to have brought some positivity back into a squad following the disastrous tenure of Portuguese Jose Morais which ended in relegation from the Championship.
George Moncur had a difficult time under Morais but is happier with Stendel. The midfielder said: "He (Morais) was a very nice man and I wish him all the best for the future but he just didn't like the way I played and it was very frustrating to be in and out of the side when we were in relegation trouble. It's nice to have a head coach now who likes quality players and who tells all of us exactly what we need to be doing in our position. That's the kind of thing that brings you closer together as a group. There was a bit of confusion last season but we all know what we're doing now."
Goalkeeper Adam Davies was born in Rinteln, Germany when his father was stationed there in the army but left a few years later and was brought up in England. He said of Stendel: "He came over to me and brought it up on the first day. The town where I am from is not far from Hannover (where Stendel used to coach). So we had a little bit of a connection already. "I don't speak any German because I was only little when we lived there. "His English is definitely improving.
"He's speaking in English quite a lot and his assistants can speak it fluently so it's not really a problem. The way he's been with us has been fantastic. "The intensity in training has gone up 1000 per cent and that, straight away, just brings a positivity to the lads."
Stendel is known to play a high-intensity style popularised by other German coaches in this country such as Jurgen Klopp and David Wagner. That style often involves a 'sweeper keeper' meaning the goalkeeper regular comes out of his box to intercept long balls. Davies has been sent video clips by the coaching staff of Manuel Neuer, the German number one famous for that style of play.
He said: " It's something that we have been working on already and, if we get it right, it could be very effective. "It's something all the goalkeepers and defenders need to learn to do. It's a fine balance. You don't want to be coming out for balls which are suicidal. "We have spoken as goalkeepers and defenders and come to an agreement as to what should be ours and what should be their's, and we're working on it quite hard. I think having the ball at my feet is a strength of mine anyway so I am glad we're working on it." Winger Lloyd Isgrove has also been impressed by Stendel. He said: "He seems a really nice guy and I think the fans will like him. "I have heard he has been in Barnsley pubs during the World Cup with England shirts on so he has made a good start."
Midfielder Cameron McGeehan, who was given the captain's armband for the first half of the first friendly at Gainsborough on Saturday, said: "It's been good to have fresh approach. It's different but if you were going to pick a league that is similar to the English league it's probably the German league. We are leaning lots of new things every day from him and he is obviously learning about us too.
"There might be a few little teething problems with the style but a lot of stuff he is telling us is what we are used to already. We're doing a lot of off the ball work at the moment and especially working on counter-pressing."
Young striker Jacob Brown has also been pleased with the training content. He said: "We have been playing a lot of football which is good because I thought we would be doing a lot of running. They have been tough sessions but mainly on the ball which is what we want to do."
Another young striker, Victor Adeboyejo believes Stendel will be happy to tip into the under 23s squad. He said: "He will definitely give young players a chance. He encourages us and speaks to us a lot on the training pitch and in games as well."
As for Stendel's language problems, none of the players believe it is a major issue. Ryan Hedges said: "You can see that learning English means a lot to him and he is working hard on it."
Moncur said: "He sometimes sounds funny to us and we sometimes can't understand him, but he's getting much better."
Isgrove added: "When he first came he struggled a bit with English but he's really improved and, in a few months, he will probably be fluent. It wasn't the best on the first day but we can tell what he wants from us anyway. I like the style of play he wants from us. It will suit me, because I like pressing and playing high up the pitch."
Brown added: "He can't speak a lot of English but he's easy to understand. "He's really energetic and easy to get along with."
