Daniel Stendel is hoping Barnsley can produce a similar performance to the one that saw them cruise to a 4-0 victory over Rochdale when the two sides met back in August.
The Reds left Spotland with all three points thanks to a Kieffer Moore hat-trick and Brad Potts’ diving header to claim their second four-goal haul in the opening four games of the campaign.
However, Stendel insists that his team must not be complacent against the Greater Manchester outfit, who are hovering just one point above the relegation zone.
“My main focus and concentration is on Rochdale; we’ve worked hard this week in training so we can be successful on Saturday,” said the Reds’ Head Coach.
“We have good memories from the first game; I think it was one of our best performances of the season – especially away from home.But this is a new game, it starts 0-0. We want to play good football and I hope we can keep going from last week, but it’s not easy.
“We need to work hard in training and I said to the players that we need to keep working hard to win the next games. If we do, then we have a big chance to pick up points and move up the table. The players are prepared for this game and we will be giving our best to win.”
With 21 goals on their travels, Rochdale are amongst the top scorers away from home and, in Ian Henderson, have one of the division’s main marksmen. The 34-year-old forward has been instrumental for Dale – plundering 14 goals so far, while also laying on five assists for his teammates.
But Barnsley are one of the form teams in Sky Bet League One with five wins in their last seven outings and are unbeaten at Oakwell this season, and Stendel believes there is more cohesion in the squad following this recent run of results.
“When you win a lot of games in the last weeks and you play six months together, it’s a little bit more normal to know what you want to play,” continued the 44-year-old. “The players know each other better and understand one another. They have more routine and the confidence is higher – especially after the games over Christmas. I think the last results and performances have been good and I hope we can continue this against Rochdale.”
Jordan Green could be in contention to make his Reds debut when Keith Hill’s side travel to South Yorkshire on Saturday.
The new recruit was on the bench as Barnsley brushed AFC Wimbledon aside last weekend following his arrival from Yeovil Town.
“We signed Jordan last week and he has shown in training that he can help us over the next months; he has a very good attitude and is very quick, and I think we need players that give their all for us to be successful,” said Stendel.
“We have enough players in our squad with the quality and right attitude to be successful. Jordan has trained every day this week and my first impressions are very good.”
You can watch Daniel’s full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.
