Andreas Winkler believes Barnsley’s win against Accrington Stanley at the weekend has shown that his squad can perform well in the face of adversity.
The Reds dug in deep to claim all three points at the Wham Stadium following Zeki Fryers’ dismissal just after the hour mark, and showed their resilience and togetherness to kill the game off in stoppage time.
“I think we performed very well – especially after the red card – and we stepped up our efforts and brought our game to them, more than they could do it to us,” said Winkler. “We had lots of good goal scoring opportunities with ten players.
“This was a pivotal situation; the coaching staff decided to change Mama Thiam – not because he didn’t perform well – but because of Jacob Brown. He could continue our high press and this was difficult for Accrington to handle.
“You couldn’t see that we were a man down and they didn’t have many chances in the last 30 minutes, but we had lots of good counters.
“Every experience in this league helps us to improve ourselves and to handle different situations. Now we know we can play with ten men and can outscore the opponents, too.”
Attention now turns to Saturday and the South Yorkshire derby against Doncaster Rovers at Oakwell.
It’s the first meeting between the two sides since February 2016 – a 1-0 win for the Reds courtesy of a late Ashley Fletcher strike.
Barnsley are now on a six-game winning streak in all competitions and another victory this weekend will further strengthen their claim as one of Sky Bet League One’s promotion favourites this season.
“It’s a brilliant situation and every win makes us stronger,” continued the Reds’ Assistant Head Coach.“There’s a lot of competition in the squad and everything is fine right now, but we know we have to be humble and look forward to the South Yorkshire derby on Saturday. It’s very important for our supporters.
“They scored seven goals in their last game, so their offense is good – they have a good plan of football and like to play, not just directly but on the shoulder, too. They’re a good team and it will be a tough match, and a tough derby. We like to play with high energy so we are well-prepared for a derby.
“I know this means a lot to the supporters and we want to go on a winning run, so we look forward to Saturday. We have to let the players off the leash, let the boys play and show their best performance.”
You can watch Andreas' full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.
