Daniel Stendel is ‘in great spirits’ after an alleged altercation with Joey Barton and is focusing on winning the final four games of the season which Barnsley hope will be enough for the top two.
The Reds head coach suffered injuries to his face and front teeth – which were not knocked out but required emergency surgery – during an incident after the 4-2 win over Fleetwood Town on Saturday. The Chronicle understands he fell headfirst into a metallic section of the tunnel.
South Yorkshire Police initially confirmed they had spoken to Fleetwood manager Barton then yesterday revealed they had arrested a man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and racially aggravated assault at Oakwell on Saturday. He was bailed late last night until next month. When contacted by the Chronicle, the police said they could neither confirm nor deny that it was Barton who had been arrested. Barton has denied the allegations in a statement today on Fleetwood's website.
German Stendel has led training this week, while the Reds have made a formal complaint about Barton to the EFL and the FA. His assistant coach Dale Tonge said: “The gaffer is in great spirits, we had a great win at the weekend. Certain things happen in football but I can’t comment on the incident. It hasn’t been a distraction at all, we’re all professionals.
"There might have been more TV cameras but they haven’t been in training so it has just been business as usual. I don’t think it’s had any impact on the group. Daniel is exactly the same as ever. He never changes, whether we win or lose. He’s a consummate professional so I expected his attitude to be nothing different to how it has been.”
Barnsley striker Cauley Woodrow posted on Twitter that Stendel had been ‘physically assaulted by another manager’ and had ‘blood pouring from his face’ while adding he was ‘disgusted’ and right-back Dimitri Cavare called Barton a ‘coward’ in French. Both tweets were soon deleted.
Although Saturday was marred by the post-match incident, it was an excellent day on the pitch for the Reds. Their 4-2 success over Fleetwood, and Sunderland’s 5-4 loss at home to Coventry City, saw Barnsley overtake the Black Cats to move into League One’s second automatic promotion position.
They are two points clear of both third-placed Sunderland and fourth-placed Portsmouth who each have a game in hand but play top ten sides in all of their next three games. In-form Charlton Athletic ended leaders Luton Town’s 28-game unbeaten run with a 3-1 win which meant the Hatters are now five points clear but there are only three points between fifth and second.
Tonge said: “After the game we saw the results at other places and it did give us a lift. Anyone who says that doesn’t happen is a liar. “But we know we still have a job to do and we’ll focus on our own results. It was a good result and good performance which is something that we needed.
“All we can do is win our last four and we hope that, if we do that, we will get our rewards and, if not, we will go into the play-offs in high spirits. It’s not in our hands, if either Portsmouth or Sunderland win their game in hand they will go above us.”
Barnsley, who host 13th-placed Shrewsbury Town tomorrow before visiting 18th-placed Plymouth Argyle on Monday, are currently on 82 points which is level with their club record best points tally set in the 1999/2000 season. No EFL side has more points than Barnsley in 2019.
Tonge said: “It will be a test of character with two games in three days against tough teams who are very good on their day. “If we do our job, with six points to play for, it could make a big difference.”
