Barnsley believe the end of their unbeaten run is a ‘monkey off our back’ while the coaching staff have been delighted with the players’ reaction to a first defeat in four months.
The Reds’ 20-match undefeated run in league games, which stretched back to December 8 and was one short of equalling a club record, ended with a 3-1 loss at Burton Albion on Saturday. They are due to host Fleetwood Town tomorrow.
Coach Dale Tonge told the Chronicle: “We are looking for a response from the players. They have given us that in training and we will be looking for more in the next couple of days including the Fleetwood game. The loss has happened, everybody is still talking about it, but we’re not. We’re just focusing on the next win. It’s been a really positive week and we haven’t had to pick them up because the players have done it themselves.”
He added: “A lot of people have made assumptions about what might be happening with us but the players have been great. We have let the boys take ownership of their performances and reflect on them. They have been very vocal about it in a good way and we haven’t had to say too much to them. It has been very, very encouraging. The players have been very mature and shown great character. They have been outstanding in training.
"The recent form has not been our best and we must do better in all areas. We have been defending and attacking in ones and twos instead of doing it as a team. The monkey of the unbeaten run is off our back now and, if there was ever a time to lose, it was last weekend. That defeat can be a massive catalyst for us going into the last five games.”
Sunderland drew 1-1 with Burton at home on Tuesday to move up to second, a point clear of the Reds who dropped out of the automatic promotion places for the first time since February 2. Sunderland have a game in hand but now begin a run of matches against top ten sides Coventry City, Doncaster Rovers, Peterborough United and fourth-placed Portsmouth, who are also in contention for the top two.
Tonge said: “Sunderland are in front of us and it’s out of our hands. “The pressure is off us now and we just need to attack the last five games. “It’s a freak season because 90 points might not get you up but we are confident that, if we win all our games, we will get into second place.”
Head coach Daniel Stendel said: "A lot of teams have had some good situations in the season. Portsmouth were 11 points ahead of us and Sunderland were seven points ahead, but we came back. We can do it again. I don’t believe Sunderland will win all their games. The point is that we will never give up.
"We play 46 games then we will see if we are promoted then or if we go into the play-offs. We are not in the best position at the moment but we said in the dressing room at Burton that we never give up and next week is a chance to win three points. We will do all we can to collect the points and see where we end up. We have no time to think about it, we will move on to the next game.
“All the players were very down in the dressing room at Burton but it is our job to give them new hope. I think we can change the atmosphere then we have a new chance against Fleetwood.”
Barnsley have won one of their last five matches but they are just three points short of their club record tally of 82. They have the best defensive record in the EFL but have let in five in two games after seven successive clean sheets. Stendel said: “Our defence is not at 100 per cent at the moment. “We think more about wanting to score than defending.”
