Speaking after yet another comeback victory, Valérien Ismaël praised the attitude of his Reds team as they turned the game on its head to seal all three points against Preston North End.
It is the third time in five outings that Barnsley have come from behind to win and it is an indication of the character within the dressing room, something that our Head Coach was keen to emphasise in his post-match interview.
“I give the guys big respect,” he asserted. “To see the guys give everything on the pitch, to show a big mentality to come back in the game and a willingness to win, all the time. If you keep the momentum going, keep the mentality going and keep up the good work, you can reward yourself in any game and this is what we want to transfer on the pitch.
“It was, for sure, a very difficult game – one down so early in the game; you have to stay calm and stay focused.”
There are often decisive moments in matches that can determine which way the points are likely to go, particularly given how fine the margins have been in recent weeks.
Ismaël believes there were two turning points on Tuesday evening that had a huge impact on the outcome and he commended Jack Walton, who had to be at his best with a number of impressive stops to keep the visitors at bay.
“The game changer was just before half-time when Jack Walton made a brilliant save to stay in the game because when you are two down it is difficult to come back in the game – we saw this last time against Bournemouth,” insisted our Head Coach. “This time, it was a very good situation for us and the second half was much better.
“The second game changer was the substitutions with Victor and Luke, who made a very good game and helped us to reach our purpose. I’m very happy about this; we need all the players and we saw every player is important.”
You can watch Valérien’s post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.
