Reds Manager Danny Wilson caught up with the press ahead of his side’s match at home to Scunthorpe United.
The Barnsley boss was boosted by the news that forward Ryan Williams has extended his loan stay with the Reds for a third month.
Speaking of the Australian, Wilson said, “We’ve managed to do that, so we’ve got him until January. It is a big boost for us but the disappointment is he hasn’t played in the last few games.
“Thankfully, if he does miss the weekend, then we’ve still for the opportunity to play him in the following four or five games.
“We’ve got five players who’ll be up in January. If we don’t continue with their services we’ve got to look elsewhere.”
The Reds have no further injury or suspension concerns, aside from the groin problem picked up by the Fulham loanee Williams.
“We’re similar to last week,” he added. “Ryan came back but came back with a slight injury. We’ll still be looking at him until Saturday, we’re not too sure at this stage."
The Iron arrive at Oakwell on Saturday with former Barnsley boss Mark Robins at their managerial helm, and Wilson added, “Having watched the DVDs of their games and having had them watched live by our scouts, we know that if we think by looking at their league position it will be easier than any other game then we’ll be in for a shock.
“Their position in the league is a little undeserved. Some of the games they’ve played, I watched them against Crawley and they completely controlled the game. They should have ran out handsome winners.
“They had a couple of poor goals conceded and maybe that’s their story over recent weeks. They’ve maybe not always seen the game out, a little similar to us in one respect. But, football-wise and discipline-wise, they’ve been excellent. With Mark (Robins) coming back here, I’m positive he’ll want to do well but no more so than us. We see these next two games as quite pivotal to us.
“It’s always strange when a new manager comes in with the same players but they start getting different results. Overall, it’s like everything, he’s got them working very hard and they’re very well-drilled in their defensive work.
“We know that and we’ve been up against a lot of teams like that this season. It’ll be a very tight game, I know that.”
Wilson believes that there is still plenty more to come from his squad but is under no illusions as to where is team could be in the table.
“We’ve made mistakes in games and it’s cost us so that’s where we are," he continued.
“I think performance-wise, what we’ve seen this season – particularly if you take away the first half a dozen games or so, we’ve seen an improvement in us. If that trend continues, we’ve got an exciting end to the season. Because it’s so tight, the league, I don’t think anything’s going to be done and dusted until the last half-dozen games or so, and we’d like to be in the shake-up then."
