Barnsley can equal their club records for an unbeaten run and the most points in a league season tomorrow but assistant coach Dale Tonge says their focus is on winning all six of their remaining matches.

Daniel Stendel’s side have not lost in 20 league games – with 12 wins and eight draws – since December 8, almost four months ago, which puts them one match short of the club record of 21 set in 1934. Their current points tally of 79 is just three short of the best the club has ever achieved, 82 under Dave Bassett in the 1999/2000 season which ended in play-off final defeat.

Tonge said: “It’s great to be making history like this and we want to go through the whole season unbeaten. But, ultimately, we want to win every game and that has to be our only aim.  We are expecting the teams below us to win every game. We have had too many draws in the last few weeks so it is on us to get back to winning.

“The biggest thing is to be consistent and not change what we have done all season so that this so-called pressure that people keep talking about won’t be evident because nothing has changed. The players didn’t show any pressure in the game against Coventry (a 2-2 draw on Saturday).” Stendel added: “20 games unbeaten is a very good achievement.

“Recently we have had big games against top six teams, we had a player sent off early in Southend and we have had suspensions and injuries. But we have kept fighting and we have played very well in most of those games. “We have a great team and we have not lost this year.”

The Reds remain second in League One, where they have been for more than two months. But the result against Coventry, a third draw in four games, leaves them just three points clear of third-placed Sunderland who have two games in hand and five ahead of fourth-placed Portsmouth who have one game in hand. Sunderland won 3-0 up at Accrington Stanley on Wednesday.

Tonge said: “I would rather have the points than games in hand. We have got the points, the other teams still have to get them.  “It’s just up to us to keep doing our job. The quality of League One this season, especially at the top, is at a very high level.

“Portsmouth and Sunderland are two massive clubs who will have expected automatic promotion this season. It’s more than likely that at least one of them will miss out, and hopefully both of them with us going up.”

Stendel, who turned 45 yesterday, added: “It is good to be the team in second with more points. We can only look at our games and make sure that the other teams need to win their games.  The other teams also have difficult games and Sunderland play more games than us which might be a factor.  We will see who is in the second place after May 4.”

Asked if he was concerned about the recent draws, Stendel said: “It’s not too easy to play well every week and I am very proud of my team for how they are playing.  It is a big time in the season, you can see the players want to win every game. We have 18 points to play for and we want to get them all.”

After tomorrow’s game at Burton Albion, Barnsley are due to host Fleetwood Town and Shrewsbury Town before making long trips to Plymouth Argyle and Bristol Rovers either side of the final home game against Blackpool.