There has been no talk of promotion in the Oakwell dressing room and there won’t be until at least February, insists assistant coach Andreas Winkler.
The Reds are fourth in League One, on course for a play-off position, but seven points behind leaders Portsmouth and five off Peterborough United who are in the second of two automatic promotion places. Barnsley moved up a place following a 1-0 success at home to Bristol Rovers which followed losses at Charlton Athletic and Shrewsbury Town in the previous week. They have a game in hand on most of the sides around them and host Southend United tomorrow.
Winkler told the Chronicle: “We don’t talk about promotion in the dressing room at all. We just look to the next game. In February we can talk about promotion but right now we just want to show our best performance in every game and improve and improve.”
He added: “We know where we stand in the league but it will be a hot autumn until Christmas, with lots of games, and we need to focus on getting points then see where we are in February.”
Barnsley are currently unbeaten at home in seven games this season and 11 stretching back to March. It is their best run since a 12-match league sequence in 2007/08.
On Saturday, they won 1-0 at home to relegation-battling Rovers which head coach Daniel Stendel admitted was not their best display. Winkler wants an improvement but ultimately is just focused on winning.
“I would just like to have three points. But we know we can play better and with more quality. Sometimes I am more happy just for a win and how we fight for three points. If we have better weather, maybe the performance will be better.
“We have shown already that we can play better than against Bristol Rovers but good teams are made from ugly wins like that. It was important to get three points, it doesn’t matter that it was a little bit dirty or ugly. We had lost a couple of games but we have taken the first step towards a winning run. The mood in the dressing room is always good but it has been better after we won the game.”
Southend have 23 points from 16 games this season so are currently 11th, five points and seven places behind Barnsley. They are currently enduring an injury crisis which has claimed eight first team players including top-scorer Tom Hopper. United had won their last three away league matches – at Wycombe, Burton and Gillingham – before going down 3-0 at third-placed Sunderland on Saturday.
The Essex club have won four of their eight away games and have picked up 13 points on the road compared to ten from eight games at Roots Hall. They have seven wins and seven defeats while only the bottom two Bradford City and AFC Wimbledon have fewer draws than their two.
Winkler said: “They play very directly but have good ball possession. It’s all about winning or losing, they have just two draws. We think they could have had more points from their results. In some ways they remind me of our team in the way they play.”
