Barnsley manager Conor Hourihane has said his side are fortunate they have games in hand as the Tykes slide towards a relegation battle following another bad result.
A heavy defeat at the hands of a resurgent Plymouth Argyle has extended the Yorkshire club’s winless run to six games, and with 21st-place Exeter City winning against Doncaster Rovers, Barnsley now sit five points above the drop zone.
While they have three games more to play than the Grecians, their fixture list sees them play four playoff-contending sides between now and the end of the season, perhaps adding some worries that the Oakwell club could be pulled into a scrap to avoid the drop.
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Hourihane Gives Target
The loss to Argyle was indicative of many of their recent performances, with the visitors firmly in control despite Barnsley having nearly two-thirds of possession across the whole match.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post about the worry that relegation is on the cards for his team, Conor Hourihane said:
“I mentioned that to the players. We are fortunate that we’ve got games in hand. We’re five points off it, we’ve got three games in hand. So from that point of view, three or four points is going to make us relatively okay.
“But we still need to go about our business in the right way to get those points. But we are very aware of it.
“There’s no shying away from it. We need to go about our business in the right way, starting against Rotherham, starting this week. We’ve got seven games to go and we need a couple of wins, no doubt, and we’re fully aware of that, to make ourselves comfortable.
“We really need them now until the end of the season to see the season out as strong as we can. I know at the minute they’ll be hurting, I’m hurting, the players are hurting, and we need to stick together with seven games to go until the summer.
“Of course, it’s so important to take some positivity into the summer as well and try and finish a campaign as strongly as you can.
“We’ve got seven games to go. We need to try and get a bit of energy going until the summer and then obviously when you go into the summer, then you’ve got something to build on.”
Bleak Times At Oakwell
The last month has been utterly torrid for Barnsley, with frank statements about their finances from figures both on and off the pitch spearheading a negative feeling across the club.
Now, with no wins in six and a heavy defeat to Plymouth Argyle, the atmosphere has become toxic, highlighted by the booing from the fans at the squad following the final whistle.
While they may have the advantage of games in hand and some promising fixtures against the bottom two in Rotherham United and Port Vale, they should be able to garner enough points to keep clear of relegation.
But it cannot be understated how wrong this season has gone, and if not for the efforts of Davis Keillor-Dunn prior to his exit, then the club would be in a much worse position than they currently find themselves.
The summer will be a major tipping point for the future of the club, and some key decisions need to be made by the leadership team to convince the fans that the club will not continue to sleepwalk into relegation next season.
