Jacob Brown is thankful to head coach Gerhard Struber for keeping faith in him during his 18-game goalless run in Championship matches which ended in the 3-0 success at Fulham on Saturday.
The 21-year-old striker netted his third goal of the season in all competitions when he doubled the lead at Craven Cottage, having previously won a penalty which opened the scoring.
Brown has played at full-back and on the right wing for Barnsley but Struber has predominantly used him up front since arriving in November, the month after his only other Championship goal in the 2-1 loss at Huddersfield Town.
Brown told the Chronicle: “The gaffer has put a lot of trust in me. When you are a striker and you haven’t scored for that long, you don’t expect to play week in, week out. But for him to show that faith in me does give me confidence. I know I have had assists but I have missed a lot of chances as well. Hopefully now I have one goal, I can get some more.
“Up front is where I am best. I haven’t got as many goals as I would have liked, but I do think I have a big impact on the game when I play in that position. But as long as I am playing, I don’t mind which position I play.”
Brown is in the top six for assists in the Championship this season, as is his captain Alex Mowatt while strikers Cauley Woodrow and Conor Chaplin have 25 goals between them in all competitions. He said: “We have had a lot of goals and creative players but it’s a team game and it doesn’t matter if we score three goals and concede four. We worked really hard at Fulham as a team and hopefully that starts a good run. It’s a massive confidence boost.
“There are less and less games and the run needs to start now. We will take each game as it comes and we can take a lot from performances like that because now we know we can beat any team in the league.”
Brown was part of the Reds side that held their nerve to get automatic promotion from League One a year ago and hopes they can do so again, with the target now survival in the Championship. He said: “It was a lot of pressure last season but a different type because we were expected to win every game. This time teams like Fulham probably don’t expect us to play that well. Sometimes being the underdogs will work in our favour.”
Brown enjoyed celebrating his goal in front of more than 1,300 supporters. He said: “It’s massive credit to the fans. We haven’t been doing well and it must be frustrating for them. The fact that there were so many there shows that they do support us. It was a great feeling to score and celebrate in front of the fans.”
