With a place in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Area final at stake this weekend, Barnsley Head Coach Lee Johnson spoke to the media about how to win over Wigan.
After taking four points from their last three league games, Johnson feels the Reds can give Wigan a good game and progress into the next round.
He said: “The mind-set is go and win the game. It’s effectively a quarter-final and it’s a big game for us, we’d love to give the fans a Wembley day out.
“We have to remain positive but we’re in an area semi-final which is a really good game for us and we’ll go there and get a result.”
“It’s a Wigan side that are strong but we can go there and play their full of freedom and show off our stuff.”
Wigan have recovered well after a difficult start and Johnson is wary of the quality they possess.
“They’re really strong in every area,” he said. They didn’t start great but they’re in the top six. You look at their squad and they have good competition, talent and energy.
“They’ve had some bad results themselves and have been done over a few times by teams so we need to catch them on that day.
The dream of getting to Wembley is on the horizon and the Head Coach knows there is a strong possibility of giving the fans a trip to the capital.
“If we win this game, there’s a real possibility of making the final,” Johnson said. “It’s a game we’re really looking forward to.
“The DW Stadium is a great stadium and pitch so we can play our football, making it an open and exciting game.
“It’s up to the players to deliver quality performances that are going to give us the win to get into the next round.
“We need to keep that dream alive. People dream and that’s what you want because the daydreamers are the ones that go and produce.”
After a gruelling South Yorkshire derby on Saturday, Johnson admitted that his side are not looking in bad shape for the trip to Lancashire.
Johnson said: “Lloyd Isgrove is over a hamstring injury, Marc Roberts took a knock in the Under-21s games but is ok and Ryan Williams came through another 45 minutes and is pushing for a start.
“Now it’s a case of building his (Williams’) confidence mentally to get him back to his best and where he was. His touch is good so we have high hopes for him.
“There’s pressure on everybody, especially someone we paid that much for. He knows and accepts that but it’s what footballers want.”
The draw on Saturday felt like a win to some of the players and the Head Coach stated it was that it was a shame to be left propping up the table last weekend.
He added: “After getting the point in the manner that we did, to go bottom three hours later was disappointing.
“On reflection, it’s not about being bottom it’s about getting out of the bottom four and it was important in bringing a few clubs closer together.
“If we can beat Colchester next weekend, we’re confident we can move out of the bottom four.
“You do look at the table, it’s my job to, it’s wins we need and things change all the time, if we get three or four wins we’ll be looking the other way.”
“Colchester becomes a massive game because it could be the start of us getting out of it. We have a lot of planning to do.”
