Paul Harsley had fond memories of Oakwell even before his Manchester City under 21s dumped Barnsley out of the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday.
The 40-year-old was the Reds’ under 23s coach for two seasons before moving to City in the summer. He was Barnsley’s caretaker for the 1-1 home draw with Sheffield Wednesday in February.
After Tuesday’s match, Harsley told the Chronicle: “It was really great to be back. I had just shy of two years at Barnsley. I worked with some really good people. To be caretaker in a big derby was a fantastic experience. Then this opportunity came up which was just too good to turn down.”
Harsley worked with several of the Reds players who came up against his side in midweek, including Victor Adeboyejo who opened the scoring.
“When Victor scored the first goal I thought ‘here we go’ then I had a chat with Jacob Brown when he came on and said ‘you’d better not score as well.’
"They were my front two for the under 23s. I am really pleased to see lads I worked with for a couple of years playing regularly now in League One.”
