Accrington Stanley winger Jordan Clark is looking forward to facing his hometown club Barnsley tomorrow and believes the two sides could be competing for promotion all season.
The 25-year-old came through the Reds’ youth system and played seven first team matches before being released in 2014. Stanley, who got promoted last year, are currently seventh – three points and three places behind Barnsley.
Clark told the Chronicle: “I am looking forward to it. It will be nice to have all my family over here to see me play against my hometown club. Both teams are doing really well and we’re looking forward to testing ourselves against one of the top teams in the league.
“I have heard a lot about Barnsley this season. I know they are a very good side but we will be going into the game with a lot of confidence.”
Clark, who is from Hoyland and attended Kirk Balk school, was in the Oakwell youth system for more than a decade. He played four times for the first team as a substitute aged 17 in the final month of the 2010/11 season under Mark Robins.
But he was used less often under Robins’ replacement Keith Hill who gave him three more appearances, including his only start in the 0-0 draw with Brighton at Oakwell in April 2012. His last appearance was a few months later in the League Cup against Swansea City.
After brief loans at Chesterfield, Scunthorpe United and non-league Hyde, he was released by David Flitcroft in 2014.
Clark said: “Coming through the academy at Barnsley was great. I loved it and I have really, really good memories. I didn’t play as much for the first team as I would have liked because of changes in managers and other things.
“Getting released from my hometown club was probably the worst moment of my career but it has made me stronger.”
Clark then joined Shrewsbury Town who were managed by former Oakwell caretaker boss Micky Mellon. He helped the Shrews to promotion from League Two in his first season then scored a 94th-minute winner at Oakwell in the 2-1 success in September 2015.
He said: “It was a big moment for me and people mentioned it to me a lot afterwards. I didn’t really play that much that season but that was a highlight.”
He moved on to Accrington at the end of that season and scored nine goals to help them out of League Two in 2017/18. Right winger Clark has started every league game for Stanley this season, scoring twice.
“Winning the league last season was the highlight of my career and I have just taken that into this season. I think I am playing the best I have ever played. Hopefully I am just coming into the peak years of my career.
“This season we feel we can compete for promotion again and, on a personal level, I think I can play in the Championship.”
Clark was part of a successful Barnsley under 18s side which also included Reuben Noble-Lazarus and Danny Rose who have forged professional careers as well as John Stones who is now an England star and Premier League champion with Manchester City.
Clark said: “What John has done is amazing but, for everyone who came through the youth teams with him for eight or nine years, it’s not that much of a surprise. He was always a brilliant player then, when he went into the first team as a teenager, he was man of the match every week.
“We had a really good under 18s side and the success of that probably gave John the confidence to go into the first team like he did. A lot of us still keep in touch and we’re all really proud of John. I think he will be England captain in a few years.”
Clark could have moved to Manchester City himself as a 16-year-old but the deal fell through. He said: “It was really close to happening and it was very disappointing. But I can’t dwell on it too much. It would have been a big opportunity but I don’t have any regrets.”
