Jose Morais thinks the training ground 'fight' between Nick Townsend and Dimitri Cavare is a positive sign and that it shows the passion in the relegation-threatened Barnsley squad.

Goalkeeper Townsend will miss the rest of the season with a broken finger, understood to have been sustained punching right-back Cavare during an altercation at the Oakwell training ground last week. While Cavare has another year left on his deal, Townsend may have played his last Reds game as he is out of contract at the end of the season, with youngster Jack Walton being recalled from his loan to provide cover for Adam Davies.

Head coach Morais said: "It was a duel between two players that resulted in one finger being broken. I am not frustrated about it. I think it is fantastic. If I could give a pair of gloves to both of them and say 'come on, fight' I would, if it would result in a better team shape and a better atmosphere. That is what we are having."

Morais has also suggested that a lack of preparation at the start of the season – when Paul Heckingbottom was head coach – has led to the problems the third-bottom Reds are now experiencing.

He told the Chronicle: "Since the beginning of the season the team has not been consistent. Why? It is not because of the fight between Cavare and Nick.If things were done in a good way in terms of the preparation of this team and team-building since the beginning of the season, I don't think this kind of fight would happen. We need solidarity and players who look into each other's eyes and say 'I trust you man'. Unfortunately the time that I have is not the time I wanted to have for this to happen."

Cavare was not in the squad for Friday's 2-2 draw with Bristol City, which took place after the incident, but he was due to return for Monday's trip to Nottingham Forest which was postponed. Cavare was sent off in January for shoving a Fulham player and Morais recognises that 22-year-old Frenchman's aggression needs to be used correctly.

"Dimitri Cavare is a player that has quality and potential. He is an aggressive, powerful player which are qualities that can help the team. The way he used those qualities in a certain moment wasn't the way we wanted to use these qualities. We need to work to reach our goals without forgetting the principles which allow us to stay as a team in harmony."

Mamadou Thiam is likely to miss at least tomorrow's game with Sheffield United after injuring his foot in training. Morais said: "It wasn't a punch, but it was an incident between two players. It could be a punch, but it was a tackle. Sometimes incidents happen in training."

Matt Mills could return to training next week but is expected to be several weeks away from playing. Barnsley could potentially be relegated by then as Birmingham City's wins against Ipswich and Bolton Wanderers this week have dumped the Reds into the relegation zone and left them five points adrift of safety with seven matches remaining.

Barnsley are without a win in six games while they have won just two of their last 25. They have a game in hand after Monday's match was called off due to waterlogged pitch. Morais has won one of his eight matches since arriving at Oakwell in February when the Reds were in the drop zone.

He said: "To be in the bottom three is nothing new. We went out of it, now we are in it again. We believe in our possibilities to stay in the Championship. All the players are aware of the gap, but we have one game in hand and we can change this situation. It would be different if we had no more games to play, but we have so many possibilities and it is in our hands. It is not easy to think like that but that is part of my job.

"If we are focusing on fears and ghosts, we will have fears and ghosts. We need to focus on the next game and the points that we have to pick up."

He added: "The players look so good that even wives and girlfriends are saying there is something different. I feel the players are more confident, the atmosphere is good and I like what I see. I feel the belief is there and the confidence is rising every day. It is important not only to believe in one's self as a player but to believe in the team and that is what they are starting to do."