Andreas Winkler is confident that Barnsley can pick up where they left off against Portsmouth when they travel to Blackpool on Saturday.
The Reds bounced back from a disappointing defeat at Wycombe Wanderers by coming from behind to claim a share of the spoils against the Sky Bet League One leaders, dominating for large parts of the game at Oakwell.
“The squad showed a good character against Portsmouth, but the goal we conceded was a mistake from our most consistent player this season – but it happens, and the team came back and it’s good to know that the squad has a character like this,” said Winkler.
“I think we had 70% ball possession and everyone was more focussed on running without the ball, attacking and counter pressing. In my opinion, it was one of our best matches of the season.”
As well as the trip to Bloomfield Road this weekend, the Reds host Peterborough United on Boxing Day before entertaining Charlton Athletic three days later ahead of visiting Luton Town on New Year’s Day.
With four games in eleven days, the gruelling festive period is a chance for Barnsley to gain momentum and pick up valuable points heading into 2019.
“Everyone was disappointed after Wycombe because we lost very important points ahead of the Christmas schedule and it puts more pressure on us,” admitted the Reds’ Assistant. “If we had taken three points, maybe it would have been a little easier and we’d have been more self-confident.
“But it can’t happen again – we have a young squad who learn from their experiences and maybe now we know how to treat the squad in pre-match. Everyone is thinking this week that we need a clean sheet so we can win more matches than we have in the last couple of weeks.
“The players are critical of themselves – they want to be more clinical and ruthless in front of goal. The skipper is a goalkeeper and that’s why he thinks about the clean sheet; this is the main part and an important part of our match.”
You can watch Andreas’ full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.
