Caretaker Head Coach, Adam Murray spoke with the press at Oakwell this afternoon as we look ahead to Wednesday night and our trip to Stoke.
With a hard earned point taken from league leaders, Bristol City last time out, the Reds now get back on their travels with two trips over the coming days.
First up is the journey to the Potteries to take on an upwardly mobile Stoke City outfit.
At his pre-match press conference, Adam Murray admitted the game might have come too soon for defender Michael Sollbauer who was stretchered off against the Robins on Saturday with a head injury.
“We’ll have a clearer picture today," Murray said, of Sollbauer. "Once he’s been assessed by the doctor, we'll know more on the way forward with it. It might not be worth the risk. There’s a lot of games coming up, and with the way we play our football, we need a lot of energy.
“Callum Styles is not going to be involved, but might be back by the weekend, but again, we won’t rush people because there’s a lot of back-to-back fixtures from now until the New Year.
“On Matty James, he’s in a good place and with all the games, he will certainly be involved a lot. Whether that's tomorrow, we aren't sure yet. But it’s not just his talent that we needed. He’s a total professional and having him around this group of players will be just as valuable. He’ll be a big player for us.”
As is to be expected, Adam was asked about the chances of Barnsley utilizing the free agent market.
The Reds were known to be in for a striker during the transfer window, and Murray was open in admitting that the club would assess all options.
There was also nothing to report on the search for a new coach, with the caretaker making it clear that's not something he's focused on.
“I think all clubs look at that market regardless. You always have to be clever and keep assessing your options.
“If we can find a new ingredient that can help us, it’s something we’d look at.
“In terms of the role, I’m just taking it day by day as you’d expect, I’ve not been told to do anything differently and that kind of decision isn’t mine to make.”
Looking forward to Stoke City and the challenge they pose, Adam suggested there were good things to take out of the display on Saturday, but maintained that if the Reds were to get anything from games of this nature, the application would have to be at 100%.
This Wednesday's hosts took six points off Barnsley last season, and Murray is hoping for a much better showing when he takes his side to the bet365 Stadium in a 7.45pm kick-off.
He said: “We all know Stoke are a big physical side and will test us on many levels. But I felt we did very well on Saturday at times. We were on the right track.
“But whilst we had the highest stats we’ve had all season in many areas, we were still lacking when it got to the final third.
“If we can fix that, we will be in a very good place and I’m very confident that we’ll turn that corner.
"We all know we have to be right on our game. We can't be at 80% and expect to get anything. It's about being right at it, in the right head space and physically on our game, and then we'll get our rewards.
“The team spirit, the enthusiasm in that changing room is extraordinary and we will fight hard for the club and the fans."
