Barnsley boss Neill Collins is looking for an immediate response after his side were defeated in emphatic style by Lincoln City last weekend.
A 5-1 defeat at home to the Imps raised some serious questions about the squad’s capabilities, and with Peterborough United winning as well, Barnsley have dropped down to fifth in the League One table.
It can be considered as somewhat of an off-day for the Tykes, however Lincoln have been in fine form recently and duly punished a lacklustre performance from the hosts.
Nonetheless, Collins’ side are still in the automatic promotion conversation and will be looking to bounce back immediately. They’ve found themselves a rather good chance of doing just that as well, as they travel to bottom of the table Carlisle United on Tuesday night.
Although there is by no means any easy game in the division, fans will be confident that they can pick up all three points against the struggling Cumbrians. A win would put them straight back in contention for second place. Just five points behind Derby County who operate that position currently, and with a game in hand, the Tykes are by no means out of it.
In an interview on the club’s official website, Collins reflected on the loss to Lincoln, and expected a response from his players in their clash with Carlisle on Tuesday night.
“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Saturday (against Lincoln) because that’s what we do when we have a result like that. Yesterday, I spent time watching it back and I think when you watch it back, I can’t say without emotion because you are still disappointed, but obviously you can look at it from an analysis point of view. We had players that have been very, very good having an off day and probably had too many.”
“The great thing about this league is that you’re out again tomorrow night and this is what’s so special about English football. There’s 46 games and there’s no hiding place. It’s more than just being a good side, it’s about being resilient, having strength in depth, because you play so many games you need different characterisitics and attributes. That’s one of the reasons we are where we are.”
Collins also took the time to praise their opponents on Tuesday night, despite their current struggles.
“They gave us a really good tough test here. Despite their league position, they’re really battling against everyone.”
“They’re in every game. So going away to Carlisle is the same as every other away game up to this point away. It will be tough. It’s all about us. Focusing on ourselves.”
Writer’s View
It’s an understatement to say that it was disappointing result for Barnsley at the weekend as they were outclassed by Lincoln but recent performances signify that it was indeed an off-day. That was in fact their first loss in seven games and during that unbeaten run they’d draw twice with Bolton as well as beat Derby.
If able to win on Tuesday night then they may just be able to go on another winning run. They don’t exactly have an easy run-in, but they also don’t have the hardest either and could really push for a place in the top-two if able to respond after the heavy loss.
Senior Editor
