Reds 'keeper Sami Radlinger has made his return to first team training following an injury picked up way back in August and spoke to us ahead of the weekend's trip to Blackburn Rovers.
Having suffered a serious injury at Oakwell against Luton Town on Saturday 24th August, it's been a frustrating few months for Austrian goalie Sami Radlinger.
The man recruited during the summer transfer window had started every league game up until the injury and won plenty of admirers.
And despite new Head Coach, Gerhard Struber being a fellow countryman, Sami told us that their paths haven't crossed before now so he's having to impress all over again in an effort to reclaim the starting jersey between the sticks at Ewood Park this weekend.
“I didn’t know him personally," explained the former Hannover stopper. "But with him being Austrian like myself, although we haven’t worked together previously I have friends who’ve played with him and so I had lots of messages about him once he was appointed.
“They’ve been very positive messages saying we’ve got ourselves a brilliant new coach and we should look forward to working with him.
“We’ve had two good training sessions and whilst it’s been just a few days the players know already what he expects from us and how he’d like us to play.”
There have been plenty of spells in most games played this season offering positive signs and hinting toward a brighter future for Barnsley. But results haven't been anywhere near good enough and Radlinger admits that it's now purely about getting three points and the players making sure they're on top of their own performances.
As Radlinger told us: “We have to start winning games now. In our past games we’ve played very well in lots of them but haven’t got the best results. We need to bring the three points home, that’s the main aim right now, to win however possible.
“If we play to our highest levels then we really can compete in this league. On Saturday in Blackburn we must make sure our level is right.”
It has been 12 weeks since Sami was ruled out of action, but the big Austrian made it clear that he's ready to play if called upon having been back in full training for the last three weeks.
“I’m fully fit now, I’ve been back in training for around three weeks. I feel better day to day, so my rehab has been great.
“I played one game in the Under 23s and came through that well, so I’m fit and ready to play if called upon, we shall see. But with a new coach it means we all start on a clean slate now so it’s been interesting this past few days because the squad know that places are there to grasp.”
Radlinger claims that confidence remains high amongst the squad and that with a new staff and fresh outlook that the Reds are capable of turning around the club's fortunes.
“There are a lot of matches still to play and we have a talented group of players who are still confident in their ability. Nobody is giving up on the fight, the battle to get us up the table.
“They say that hope dies last, and we all hope that we can turn this all around, starting Saturday.”
