Mike Bähre believes Saturday’s trip to Southend United is an opportunity for Barnsley to showcase their attacking prowess.
The Sky Bet League One fixture will be broadcast live on Sky Sports – one of three Reds’ games this month selected for coverage, and the German midfielder says the national audience will get to see what his side are all about.
“There’s always a bit of extra motivation if it’s on TV because everyone knows that more people will be watching,” said Bähre. “There’s not only this match, but another two more, so everyone knows that Barnsley are playing good football and want to get promoted, so it’s more motivation for us to do well.”
Barnsley are looking to make it 15 games unbeaten when they travel to Roots Hall this weekend and continue their push for an immediate return to the Championship.
Consecutive 0-0 draws have reinforced the fact that Daniel Stendel’s men are one of the teams to beat this season, with only Middlesbrough (24) and Mansfield Town (26) conceding less goals than the Reds (28) in the Football League.
And with 59 goals scored, Barnsley are the joint-second most prolific side in the third tier – alongside Sunderland and Doncaster Rovers – with only Luton Town (67) having bagged more.
“That’s football – it’s all about the goals,” insisted Bähre. “If we keep a clean sheet like we did in the last two matches and score one goal, then that’s it. The most important thing in football is to score goals – especially for me.”
Bähre scored his first Barnsley goal against Southend as the Reds ran out 4-2 winners in the Emirates FA Cup second round back in December.
The 23-year-old has adapted well to the demands of English football following his arrival at Oakwell on loan from Hannover 96 in August. However, he believes that the speed of the game in England is much different to his native Germany.
“The match on Saturday [at Portsmouth] was a good example because you get no time on the ball and one or two men all the time trying to tackle you,” continued the midfield maestro.
“The big difference between England and Germany is the patience – it’s much more patient in Germany and side-to-side. Here, it’s much quicker, so, for the supporters, it’s better to watch English football than German football because they could have the impression that German football is a bit boring compared with English football.”
You can watch Mike’s full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.
