Paul Heckingbottom believes long winless runs are inevitable for the Championship's youngest squad, but is hoping Barnsley's current sequence of defeats ends at bottom club Bolton Wanderers tomorrow.
The Reds have lost to Cardiff City, Leeds United and Reading in their last three matches, without scoring a goal, which leaves them 18th in the table with 20 points from 19 games. They have one point from four games since November 4. Defeat at the Macron Stadium tomorrow would mean Barnsley have lost four in a row for the first time since an eight-game losing run under Heckingbottom's predecessor Lee Johnson in late 2015.
Heckingbottom told the Chronicle: "We were always going to have big swings in form with a young team like this. We're going to have difficult runs and we have prepared for them, this season even more than last season because it is a brand new side. That's the nature of the league and it doesn't really faze me. What fazes me is the performances and players not taking information on board and learning. We're developing players but it's a results business and players have to understand that."
He added: "We don't think any differently as staff if we have lost three on the spin or won three on the spin. I know the fans do because I am with them all the time. It's crazy how much it changes and fans won't realise how much of an impact they have. I know because I have been one. These young players need their help and their backing.
"I expect the players' mentality probably changes as well, especially with such a young team like we have. We have a young side who have jumped up to try to compete in the Championship and they will do that but, along the way, there will be massive ups and downs so we have to remain focused on how we get better."
Heckingbottom said the first half performance in the 3-0 loss at Reading on Tuesday was the most disappointing of the season. He said: "We've learned a lot from the Reading game, most of it not nice lessons but it's a reminder of where we are. We were naive and didn't have quality on the ball.
"Sometimes me and the staff need a reality check and it was a big setback. We're a young side with lots of players playing in this league for the first time but it is difficult for me to take a performance like that. There were lots of things you won't see from a Barnsley side again."
Heckingbottom has often made changes to his side, regardless of form, as he tries to rest key players and give others an opportunity. He said: "The figures have shown that that has not really worked.
"What we will probably do now is keep the same team if they are doing well. The trade-off with that is that you push players until they break and you don't learn about the players who aren't playing."
Barnsley are six points clear of the relegation zone and another one ahead of Bolton. Following promotion from League One, the Trotters picked up just two points from their first 11 matches of the season.They were seven points adrift of safety after a run of eight straight defeats in all competitions without scoring in any of those games.But they then went on an unbeaten run of seven matches – two wins and five draws – which took them off the bottom, but that ended in dramatic style on Saturday as they were crushed 5-1 at leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
That result dumped Phil Parkinson's team back to the bottom of the league, but victory over the Reds could take them out of the relegation zone if other results go their way.Heckingbottom said: "We can't just think: 'Bolton are bottom of the league, we need to beat them.' We need to beat every team we play against. I have seen quite a lot of Bolton and the difference once they started picking up results was easy to see in their organisation, workrate and intensity.
"They don't take chances in possession, they play forward early and they have scored 50 per cent of their goals from set plays. They have a doggedness which makes it difficult for teams they play against."
Barnsley are likely to come up against one of their players from last season tomorrow in striker Adam Armstrong. Having netted six goals in 35 Reds games last season while on loan from Newcastle, the 20-year-old has been leant to Bolton where he has scored once in 17 league games, 14 of which have been starts.
Heckingbottom said: "He has been playing on the left so he is a danger cutting in at pace and shooting with his right foot. He was disappointed with his loan spell here."He was very critical of himself and that affected his performances. He beat himself up and we worked a lot on his body language. He's a big talent and he's got that match-winning ability."
Centre-back Mark Beevers, who is from Higham but failed a trial at hometown club Barnsley, has played 18 of the Trotters' 19 league games – missing only last week's 2-2 home draw with Reading due to suspension. Goalkeeper Ben Alnwick, who played 12 games for the Reds in 2012 and 2013, is Bolton's first choice stopper and has played 14 matches this season.
Both Bolton's two league wins this season have come at the Macron Stadium, formerly the Reebok Stadium. Barnsley have never won there, with four draws and two defeats on their last six visits. Their 18 league trips to Bolton have brought just two victories. The Reds have not beaten the Trotters in ten meetings home or away, losing five of the last six. The Reds will have Adam Hammill back from suspension while Lloyd Isgrove and Adam Jackson are still not training as they recover from injury.
