Following our victory over Wycombe Wanderers on Wednesday evening, Valérien Ismaël insists his side claimed three crucial points to establish a gap between Barnsley and those near the foot of the Sky Bet Championship.
The Reds now sit 16th – ten points above the bottom three but, given the topsy-turvy nature of the division, just eight points outside the play-off places in a congested mid-table.
“It was a big fight; we expected this fight against Wycombe,” began our Head Coach. “We were prepared and the guys did it very well and it was a question of second balls and set-pieces. We defended very well and tried to have a quick transition and scored a goal exactly like we wanted.
“It was a very important three points for us because it’s a game you have to win against that direct opponent on the table to have a bigger gap between us and them, and that’s why I’m very delighted about the result. But now we have to be focused for the big game on Saturday – it will be another fight.”
Goals from Callum Styles and Cauley Woodrow in either half were enough to see Barnsley over the line after the Chairboys had converted a controversial spot-kick.
Ismaël was full of praise for the duo, who were also on target in the 2-1 victory at Birmingham City last week, and urged them to continue their impressive displays.
“Callum has improved himself, increased his level and raised the bar high,” he continued. “I told him we need consistency; we need a performance every three days in a long season and that’s why Stylesy is on the right way.
“For the strikers, the important thing is to have confidence to score the goals regularly and Cauley is doing that. He works hard for the team and it’s the same, like Stylesy – he has to stay that way because now it’s the bigger step that you want to stay on this level and show this in every game.”
You can watch Valérien’s post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.
