Andreas Winkler admits Barnsley are not thinking about catching runaway leaders Portsmouth who visit Oakwell tomorrow and focusing on sides below the table-toppers who they also face over the festive period.
Having collected 35 League One points, the Reds have had their best first 20 matches of a season since 1999. But they have not won in their last three league games, losing their most recent two at Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers. That leaves them sixth, in the play-off places on goal difference, while they are six behind second-placed Luton Town and 12 off Portsmouth.
Coach Winkler told the Chronicle: “In our situation it’s not good to look at Portsmouth and the points they have. Let’s look at Luton and the other teams who are very close to us. We have games against very strong teams in the next few weeks.”
Barnsley’s next two opponents have two of the best defensive records in League One as Portsmouth have conceded the fewest goals while eighth-placed Blackpool, who the Reds visit on December 22, have let in the third fewest.
Barnsley then host fourth-placed Peterborough United on Boxing Day and fifth-placed Charlton Athletic on December 29 before visiting Luton on New Year’s Day.
Stendel, who was disappointed with the 1-0 loss at Wycombe on Saturday, said: “We need a 100 per cent turnaround to win a home game against the top of the table. We know that this is a decisive month. In December we play a lot of games against the teams at the top of the table. My task and the team’s task is that we take more points from those games.”
Winkler added: “After those matches we can say how much that run will define our season. But it’s good because every player knows we play really, really strong teams in a few hard weeks.”
Those matches lead directly into the January transfer window and Winkler admits how much business the club does during that month will be dictated by how well the Reds have performed in the next five games. He said: “I think it will give us an idea of where we need to strengthen in our squad. I hope we are doing well and don’t need new players.”
Portsmouth are top of the league, six points clear of Luton who are in the other automatic promotion place, but lost 2-1 at home on Tuesday to Charlton who have now overtaken Barnsley in fifth. That was only Pompey’s second league loss of the season and ended a run of eight successive wins as well as a 13-match unbeaten sequence.
No side in the EFL have won more games or collected more points this season than Portsmouth’s tallies of 14 and 47 while they have conceded the fewest goals in League One with just 17 in 21 matches.
Winkler said: “It’s our biggest test of the season. We need a very good performance. We want to win after two defeats, but we have to be very, very focused because Portsmouth are a very strong team with high individual quality.
“Portsmouth lost their last game but that does not make us more optimistic, maybe they want to win even more now. We have looked very, very exactly at what they do and found some extra exercises in training to prepare for that.
“They play very direct and know exactly what they want to do. They have a centre forward (Oliver Hawkins) whose headers are like passes then three midfielders who run onto those balls and every one of those four players are prolific goal-scorers. They have very experienced players in defence and they can sit back and have a back six when they need to defend.
“It will be very difficult for us to play against them but we always go for the win. We know, if we play our best, we can give them a very tough challenge.”
The Reds are unbeaten in 13 home league games since March, winning seven and drawing six, and have conceded the fewest home goals in League One this season with just six in nine matches.
Portsmouth are unbeaten away from home this season in all competitions, winning 11 games and drawing the other two at Doncaster Rovers and Accrington Stanley. They have conceded just seven in those 13 matches and have not let in more than one in any of them.
No side in the EFL or Premier League has picked up more points away from home than the 26 collected so far by Pompey on their travels.
Winkler said: “Our home form is very, very important. We always like playing at Oakwell and it’s important that the opponents have a bit of fear and know it is very difficult to get even a point.”
Winkler said his side were ‘like lions without teeth’ in their 1-0 loss at Wycombe. He said: “In the dressing room it was very, very down. Nobody wanted to talk for about 15 minutes. I have never seen a dressing room like this since I have been with Barnsley. But, when we have made mistakes and not played well in the past, we have come back better.”
