Jason McCarthy says he will always appreciate the Barnsley fans but is putting that to one side when he plays against his old club for Wycombe Wanderers tomorrow.
The 23-year-old joined the Reds in the summer of last year from Southampton but struggled for regular Championship football under both Paul Heckingbottom and Jose Morais before failing to convince current boss Daniel Stendel to favour him over Dimitri Cavare following relegation.
McCarthy played for Barnsley in the pre-season friendlies for the current campaign but moved on the last day of the permanent summer transfer window to Wycombe, where he had previously been on loan from Southampton.
He told the Chronicle: “It was a very mixed year for me and you could call it a rollercoaster. It had started really well, I was settling into northern life and we were 14th when I came out of the team. I was in and out under Hecky then Morais wouldn’t give me an opportunity.
“When we went down to League One, I knew I had to be first choice and, when it came to the surface that I wasn’t going to be playing every week under Daniel Stendel, I had to move on for the good of my career. I think everyone at Barnsley understood that.
“Me and the fans had a really good rapport. It seemed like they thought I should have had more opportunities than I got and their support pulled me through a lot of difficult times. I will always remember them fondly.”
Stendel said of McCarthy: “Jason wanted to play every week and I could not promise him that so he wanted to leave. I was happy with him, he was a player with a very good mentality.”
McCarthy has been a Wycombe ever-present since the move and has already made more league starts for them than he did for the Reds for whom he played 24 games in all competitions – mostly before Christmas last year.
He said: “I am loving it. I am playing every week. I get on really well with the manager and it’s the best dressing room I’ve ever been in.”
Barnsley approached Wycombe to speak to manager Gareth Ainsworth after Heckingbottom left in February but the request was rejected. He then secured promotion from League Two after finishing third but Wycombe won just one of their first 11 games this season, leaving them in the relegation zone at the start of October.
Six victories in their last nine games have seen them surge into tenth, seven points behind the fifth-placed Reds. Only the top three have picked up more points than the Buckinghamshire club over the last ten matches.
The Chairboys’ home form has been key to their turnaround as they have won their last five league games at Adams Park after not winning any of their first five.
McCarthy said: “A few months ago this wouldn’t have seemed like a big game and everyone would have expected Barnsley to walk all over us. But now we are in great form, especially at home, and we’re hoping to make Barnsley the sixth team in a row to lose to us at Adams Park which would be unbelievable.
“Barnsley are a very good side. I think they have a very good chance of promotion this season. But this is a chance for us to get within four points of them.”
With Cavare suspended, Barnsley’s right-back is likely to be Jacob Brown who had been converted from striker in recent months.
McCarthy said: “I probably would never have imagined that Browny would play right-back. But credit to him, he always had a really good persona in training and part of being a young player is being able to adapt to anything. I hope he is successful because he’s a good lad but, on Saturday, I hope our left winger has him on toast.
“It helps a bit that I know the Barnsley players. We do loads of analysis on every team so our players will be well-prepared but, if they have any queries, I will be happy to help.
“I have a lot of good friends there and speak to pretty much all of the Barnsley players. Probably the main three I talk to are Pottsy (Brad Potts), Cam (McGeehan) and Lloyd Isgrove but also George Moncur and Adam Jackson.”
