Gerhard Struber is delighted that Barnsley took their post-lockdown points tally to seven from a possible nine and kept a third straight clean sheet in a 2-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday.
Second half goals from Conor Chaplin and Jacob Brown secured the win for the Reds, following their 0-0 draw with Millwall and 1-0 win at QPR.
Struber told the Chronicle: “Three games, three clean sheets and also points. This is massive payback for my boys for their belief in our quality and our chances to stay in the league. My boys all know what we need to do.
“We need to remember that we are still in the relegation zone. It is the right time to climb out of it. We are in a very good situation but we have to protect this momentum and look forward to the next game against Stoke. The winning mentality at the moment is very good and we have the right mindset.”
Struber was pleased with the way his side improved throughout Tuesday’s match. He said: “It was a hard game. It was difficult for us to get into good positions in the first half. Especially in the last 20 minutes of the first half, we lost momentum. We changed the formation at the break and this was the big key in the second half. We won the ball more and we had more control on the ball. Every player showed me he has the right mindset and he is ready for a fight and he has motivation without fans in the stadium.”
Struber made three changes on 56 minutes and, seconds later, one of the replacements Kilian Ludewig crossed for another Conor Chaplin to head in. Struber said: “This shows me I have a big squad with good quality players and everyone is ready when he goes in the game. It is no surprise to me that Kilian Ludewig can make a special cross and Conor Chaplin can score goals. We need the right starting 11 and the right subs, then it is very difficult against us. When I see Mads (Andersen) and Solly (Michael Sollbauer) at the moment, it is not so easy for sides to create chances against us.”
Midfielder Callum Styles said: “It’s good to get the win. We have two wins and one draw which is very good form. We are just buzzing. We started off dead good then Blackburn got in the game. Our subs made an impact, we took control and they didn’t real have an impact - they just tried to go long which didn’t work. We kept going and saw the game out.”
Midfielder Romal Palmer came off in the first half. Struber said: “We have a problem with him. My medical department tell me he has a ligament problem. Tomorrow he will have a scan. It is difficult and it does not look good.”
