Ahead of our first game of the New Year against Derby County on Thursday, Alex Mowatt says he is delighted with Barnsley’s recent form and upturn in results.
The Reds are unbeaten in their last five outings and were unlucky not to leave South Wales with a victory on Sunday after having three goals ruled out for offside and rattling the woodwork against Swansea City.
“Recently, we’ve been doing well and picking up points,” said Mowatt. “They’re games that we probably would have lost earlier on in the season; we’ve been picking up points or getting a late winner, so it’s nice to get some points even if we’re not playing as well.
“There’s a togetherness as a team and wanting to win or draw games. If we’re drawing, sometimes it’s a good point away and not to go chasing games and get opened up at our end.”
After being rooted to the foot of the Sky Bet Championship table a few weeks ago, Barnsley are now only in the bottom three by virtue of goal difference.
Seven points separate the Reds from 20th place Huddersfield Town and Mowatt insists that there is plenty of time for more teams to get embroiled in a relegation scrap.
“We’ve gone on a run and closed the gap,” continued the skipper. “We want to drag other teams in with us and climb the table, so we need to keep playing consistently and picking up points.
“There’s quite a lot of teams on those sorts of points that you can look at, so we want to drag as many teams in as possible, really.”
Thursday’s trip to Pride Park has already got plenty of media attention, with Wayne Rooney set to make his Rams’ debut after joining as a player-coach.
The former England international and five-time Premier League winner during his time with Manchester United arrived in the Midlands from DC United, and Mowatt is looking forward to testing himself against one of the greatest players of a generation.
“It’s a bit crazy to be playing against Wayne Rooney in the Championship, but it’ll be nice to challenge yourself against the best,” insisted the 24-year-old. “It’ll give them a massive boost, playing with a top player; he’ll improve their team massively and improve everyone around him, so you’ve got to look at them as a better side with him in there.”
You can watch Alex’ full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.