Kenny Dougall says he is delighted to be back playing having made his return from injury a couple of weeks ago.
The Reds’ midfielder was at his tenacious best as Barnsley picked up important points against Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion, playing a key role in Cauley Woodrow’s opener at the Hawthorns.
“Personally, it’s great to be back,” exclaimed Dougall. “Three games in a week has been tough on the body, but I’m obviously buzzing to be back.
“Going from nothing to three games in a week would be tough for anyone, but it’s not something I’m thinking of. I feel fit, it’s just that the Swansea and West Brom games were tough and I think a few of the boys found it physically quite hard.”
Despite not picking up a win since the opening day, Dougall remains confident that Barnsley can turn their fortunes around and begin to climb the table.
Up next for the Reds is Bristol City on Friday evening, live on Sky Sports, and the Australian insists that he and his teammates are optimistic ahead of the Sky Bet Championship clash.
“It’s not going to be an overnight fix; we obviously know it’s going to be a grind all season,” continued Dougall. “In the three games that I’ve been back, the first two of those were very encouraging performances; we didn’t quite get three points out of them but we got draws against two good teams.
“Last Saturday was obviously disappointing, but all the boys are positive that we can do enough to stay in this league.”
The Robins are currently sixth in the table after coming from behind to claim a point against Wigan Athletic last weekend.
Lee Johnson’s side can go level on points with leaders West Brom with victory at Oakwell, but Dougall insists that it won’t be an easy night for City in South Yorkshire.
“They’re an energetic team and in the top six,” said the 26-year-old. “They’re in good form, but had that slip up against Luton a couple of weeks ago. It’ll be tough, but I’m pretty sure they’ve only won once away since August so, coming to this place, it’s going to be a good game.
“We’ve shown all last season and for large parts of this season that, at home, we’re a good side – we’ll give anyone a game. Against Swansea, it could have gone either way.”
You can watch Kenny’s full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.
