Nick Townsend is looking forward to a return to his first club Birmingham City as a Championship 'keeper tomorrow for what he admits is a must-win game.
The 23-year-old joined his local club at the age of nine and stayed for more than a decade but never made a first team appearance before joining the Reds.City are 20th, three places above Barnsley.
Townsend said: "I am a childhood Blues fan but I am looking to get three points with Barnsley. My family and friends are all Blues fans. I feel I have proven what I can do and to go back there as a Championship goalkeeper will be great for me. Getting three points would be massive because it's a game we need to win."
Townsend signed for Barnsley in the summer of 2015 and played ten games that year but was dropped in November and spent the next two years out and three months of the side as Adam Davies played 123 consecutive games. He was loaned out to non-league Solihull Moors earlier this season then came back into the Reds team this month after a series of Davies errors.
"It's been a long wait and it's been hard but it made me stronger as a person and I am glad I have finally pushed my way in. I have come to an age where my game has settled down. I am making less mistakes and my concentration is better. I was close to leaving at times but it's a blessing is disguise that I didn't because I am playing in the Championship now. Davo has been spot on since I have been playing. We are very close and we always support each other."
Barnsley are second-bottom and have just hired Portuguese coach Jose Morais. Townsend said: "It's not going to be easy with a new manager coming in and changing how we play but we need to knuckle down. He has tried to make us believe that we have the quality to get out of this. We just need to have a bit more belief. We're not down in the dumps, we're still buzzing. If you look at the quality we have, we shouldn't be where we are. We just need to work on the finer details."
Townsend has worked at both Birmingham and Barnsley with goalkeeper coach John Vaughan who is now working under Morais. The keeper said: "That has been important for me, knowing I had someone there who knows how I work and I know how he works."
Townsend has played under four managers in his last four games. He played for Lee Johnson in 2015, Paul Heckingbottom in the 1-0 loss at QPR this month, caretaker Paul Harsley in the derby draw with Sheffield Wednesday and new boss Jose Morais in Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat to Burton Albion.He joked: "My name might be on Question of Sport."
