Adam Murray admits tomorrow’s hosts West Bromwich Albion are on a 'different playing field' to Saturday’s visitors Swansea City as he prepares for his second game as caretaker manager.
The Baggies are currently top of the Championship while Barnsley slipped to the bottom after their 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Murray said: “West Brom are an unbelievable team with unbelievable players but we have some really exciting, energetic players and a team that is proud to wear the shirt and you saw on Saturday they will battle for every yard. We will go there and have a fight.
“It will have to be a masterplan. We have had our eye on them for a week. Swansea were good but West Brom are on a different playing field. We can’t have fear and anxiety about how good they are. We will go there to get something. No one expects anything for us but we enjoy ruining parties. The shift we put in on Saturday was massive but we will have to match that and possibly beat it.
“We will come up against players with extreme quality but we will nullify that best we can. They have Premiership players. They are very attacking, especially at home, and they are ruthless in the final third.
“We will have games this season that we look at as ones we have to win but others that, if we get anything out of them, it’s a bonus. You just can’t go from highs to lows, you have to be consistent in your mindset and know that, even though we have to start winning, there are a lot of games left.
“I have said in meetings that I can tell the players how good Swansea and West Brom are but does it really matter? The focus this season has to be on Barnsley and these players. We have unbelievable potential in this group, that I think we are unlocking, Everyone says we need experience but, in six to 12 months time, these players will have unbelievable experience that sometimes you don’t get in three or four years because they have to learn on the job.”
Striker Cauley Woodrow added: “We just need to play the same as we did at the weekend but take chances. They are top of the league but we are not scared or worried, we will go there and give it our all. It would be a big confidence boost if we get something there.”
Defenders Bambo Diaby and Dimitri Cavare both came off during Saturday’s game but Murray thinks they could play tomorrow. He said: “Hopefully they can play but at same time we won’t risk anything. All the players put so much effort in. A lot of the physical data was really high, some higher than all season. We brought them off to be cautious.” Murray said he may ‘tweak’ the 3-5-2 system that worked well at the weekend as Barnsley look to improve on the division’s worst away record as they have just one point and one goal from their five matches on the road so far this season.
“We can improve everywhere but we need to maintain the energy from Saturday. I was really chuffed with the fighting spirit on Saturday and we need to keep that mindset and positive attitude. We have everyone on the same page and pulling in the same direction.
“We need to take our chances, we had lot of on Saturday. Cam McGeehan made some fantastic runs and it was the player I remember watching at Luton with incredible positional play. He’s just not used to being in that position in the penalty area at the moment and that showed.
“I think it’s a massive thing when you’re putting ideas in that they work so the players believe in them. The system we used highlighted people’s strengths and helped areas that have been struggling a little bit. We managed the game really well on Saturday. We all lost our voices on the sidelines. There will be a lot of information that goes in on Tuesday and it’s up to the players to take all of that in. We might tweak a few more things.”
