Barnsley's players have been told to see the upcoming run of six matches with bottom eight sides, starting at home to Bradford City tomorrow, as even more important than their recent series of clashes with promotion rivals.
The fifth-placed Reds are unbeaten in five league matches which were all against sides who were in the top eight at the time the fixture was played.
Tomorrow’s all-Yorkshire clash will be the first time the Reds have faced a team outside the top ten since the 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers on October 27 which was ten matches and 11 weeks ago.
The Bradford game begins a run of six fixtures against sides currently in the bottom eight. After taking on the fourth-bottom Bantams, they are due to visit last-placed club AFC Wimbledon before home games with the two worst defences in the league, Scunthorpe and Rochdale, as well as trips to 19th-placed Gillingham and third-bottom Oxford United.
Assistant coach Andreas Winkler said: “We need to take these games even more seriously than the games against the top of the table teams. We have not had good results against this kind of team this season and we are aware that we have to fight in every game for the points.
"We have to take our momentum and not think about if the opponent team is at the bottom or the top of the league. We need to really put pressure on the team in training, they need to train like they play.”
Having lost 1-0 at Premier League Burnley in the FA Cup on Saturday, Barnsley dropped one place to fifth as Charlton Athletic drew with Sunderland.
They are still 11 points off leaders Portsmouth and six behind second-placed Luton Town, who lost manager Nathan Jones to Stoke City this week. The Reds have a game in hand on each of the top two who are in the automatic promotion places.
Barnsley have the best defensive record in the division with 22 goals conceded in 25 league matches and only one in their last four.
Tomorrow, they will be hoping to extend their 16-match unbeaten run of home league games which began in March of last year and has seen them win nine and draw seven.
Bradford are recovering after a terrible start to the season but they slipped back into the relegation zone over the weekend as they did not play but Scunthorpe United won to overtake them.
No League One side have collected more points in their last five matches than City who have scored more goals in their last six games than in their first 20.
Both Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel and Bradford manager David Hopkin were nominated for December’s League One Manager of the Month. But it went to Nathan Jones who moved from Luton town to Stoke City this week. About 3,000 City fans are expected at Oakwell.
Winkler said: “Bradford are getting a lot better and we are expecting a tough match. We beat them twice but they will want to show us that they are a better team. They have a lot more organisation and they have a clear pattern now.
“With every win they get, the self confidence rises. Their manager is doing a great job and it will be a great match. Our confidence is very high and we will go for a win, but we always respect the opponent and especially Bradford in a Yorkshire derby.
“They have great players with a lot of experience. I am looking forward to a big away crowd to make a good atmosphere.”
