Barnsley are looking forward to a ‘big week’ in which they could make history and take huge steps towards promotion from League One.
The Reds are due to host mid-table Accrington Stanley tomorrow before welcoming third-placed placed Sunderland on Tuesday then visiting sixth-placed local rivals Doncaster Rovers a week today.
Second-placed Barnsley are 15 points clear in the play-off places while they are five behind leaders Luton Town and two ahead of Sunderland who have a game in hand.
Dale Tonge, head coach Daniel Stendel’s assistant, said: “It’s a big week coming up, not just the amount of games but the opposition we are playing. The players are really looking forward to this week.
“You can see in every game and every training session that the players have a real desire and hunger to not just win but to show how good they are. That was more evident against Southend (a 3-0 win on Saturday with ten men) than I have seen in previous weeks which has given us a real boost.”
Barnsley are currently unbeaten in 15 matches – ten wins and five draws –which is their best run since the 1984/85 season under Bobby Collins. Should they win or draw with Stanley tomorrow they will be unbeaten in 16 fixtures for the first time since the 1980/81 promotion campaign in which Norman Hunter’s Reds did not lose for 20 games.
Barnsley have not been beaten in 21 home league matches since March 17 last year, winning 13 and drawing eight. Should they win or draw against both Accrington and Sunderland, they would be undefeated at home for a year while they would equal their best post-war run of 23 matches set in the 1967/68 season.
Tonge said: “A year unbeaten at home would be a good achievement but it’s not something we focus on. We just focus each game as they come. We genuinely don’t talk about the run we are on. Momentum just builds naturally as the wins and the points come in.
“Going unbeaten at home all season isn’t something we’re looking at, but I don’t see why we can’t do it.”
Stanley are 15th in League One, four points above the relegation zone. They were fourth at the 14-game mark in late October, above Barnsley, but have won only three of their last 20 League One matches. They played twice at home this week, losing 1-0 against Coventry City on Saturday then 2-1 to Blackpool on Tuesday.
They drew 2-2 at Sunderland in their last away game, having been 2-0 ahead, but have won just once in their most recent 11 matches on the road, losing seven and failing to score in six. Only bottom club AFC Wimbledon have scored fewer goals than Accrington who have netted 35 in 34 games.
Tonge said: “We’re not thinking about Sunderland at the moment. Accrington are a very dangerous opponent. They are a tough team to prepare for. They are very off the cuff, you can plan one thing and then they do the total opposite. We will prepare for every eventuality.
"We watched their game at Sunderland and, for 60 minutes, they played Sunderland off the park but they were unfortunate with injuries and let Sunderland back in.”
Hoyland man Jordan Clark, who came through the Reds academy and played seven first team games, has been a regular starter for Stanley this season, scoring eight goals. He netted a last-minute winner in his last game at Oakwell with Shrewsbury Town in September 2015.
He could not prevent Accrington losing 2-0 at home to Barnsley in November with goals by Cauley Woodrow and Kieffer Moore either side of a red card for Zeki Fryers.
