Peter Ramage hopes he can stop Barnsley being known as a 'soft touch' in his three-month loan spell.
The 30-year-old Crystal Palace defender, who spent last season at Oakwell, returned on Friday and scored the winner the following day at Rochdale.
"It was a whirlwind couple of days and the goal just topped it off," said Ramage. "I don't get many goals and I can remember every single one of my seven. It was a nice moment to celebrate in front of the fans, who were fantastic. I didn't expect that many fans but it was brilliant. They were all there last season when we were basically rubbish.
"But I'm more pleased about the clean sheet and the win than the goal. I think the lads have been seen as a bit of a soft touch from what I have read and heard before coming here. Everyone connected with the club showed grit and determination on Saturday to shove those words up people's proverbials."
Ramage says he had enquiries from Championship clubs but took the decision to play in the third tier for the first time in his career after Barnsley chief executive Ben Mansford visited Selhurst Park for Palace's League Cup game against his hometown club Newcastle United two weeks ago. "It was a hard decision to drop down to League One. Any footballer wants to play as high as possible and I wanted to be in the Championship. But I didn't want to sit on my backside not playing and Barnsley gave me a concrete offer. "Geographically it's better for me because my wife and kids have been in Newcastle the last few months and I've been in London which has been really, really tough. It's also good to come back to a club I know so it ticked all the boxes. "I really enjoyed my time last season despite the relegation. It's a good club and the fans are fantastic. I have come here for three months until January. I want to play at as high a level as possible but, if I can't get back into the Championship, then Barnsley will be very good option."
Asked if he would like to keep Ramage once the loan deal ends in January, Barnsley manager Danny Wilson told the Chronicle: "I can answer that yet. It depends on how Peter is doing, what his fitness is like, Crystal Palace's situation, our finances, their finances. There are too many factors."
