Gerhard Struber is eager for Barnsley to continue their fine run of form when they travel to Derby County in the Sky Bet Championship on Thursday evening.
The Reds have amassed 12 points from their last seven games and will be looking to pick up their first win at Pride Park in more than a decade in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
“When we concentrate on our game style and have this mentality from the last games, it’s not so easy now to play against Barnsley,” said Struber.
“We have the mentality for winners and this is what we want from the next games. We want points, and I think we have, at the moment, the right mentality and right attitude for this.”
A first clean sheet in 19 outings away at Swansea on Sunday is perhaps one of the more pleasing aspects for Struber, who has looked to solidify the defence since arriving at Oakwell in November.
Another shutout against the Rams would help lay the foundations for another memorable away day this season, but the Austrian insists it is a collective effort.
“We spent a lot of time in the training sessions to work with the defence to play in a diamond,” continued Struber. “It is important that we are clear what the task is off the ball and this is my responsibility to do this in all phases.
“We have more control on the ball and I think this is because of the energy and high concentration not to lose the simple balls.”
Derby head into this match on the back of a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Charlton Athletic, having played with ten men since the dismissal of Krystian Bielik in the 17th minute.
This game, however, will be dominated by the official unveiling of Wayne Rooney, who is set to make his Rams’ debut after joining as a player-coach from DC United.
“We are looking forward to the game at Derby and the atmosphere is amazing – we’re going to play against Rooney; an England legend,” said the Reds’ Head Coach. “We are ready for a great fight and ready to bring a good performance and hopefully we can create three points.”
You can watch Gerhard’s full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.
