Just 45 days since that memorable evening at Griffin Park, the Reds are back in competitive action once more as we entertain Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup first round.
Sabri Lamouchi’s side were the last team to visit Oakwell, four days prior to our triumph against Brentford, with Patrick Schmidt proving to be the hero with a dramatic late winner to keep our hopes of a great escape alive heading into the final day.
It was a contrasting end to the campaign for both clubs, with Barnsley enjoying scenes of pure elation while Forest were left utterly deflated after squandering their play-off dreams in the most incredible circumstances.
One of the heroes of our survival push, Callum Styles, says the Reds are still in good spirits from last season and are aiming to build on that fine run of form.
“We’re feeling really good,” said the dynamic midfielder. “Obviously, in the two pre-season friendlies, we beat Crewe and then, against Newcastle, we battered them all game but were unlucky to come out with that result. So we’re feeling confident.
“I’m confident. Obviously, following from last season we have to be confident in our own abilities as we survived that madness, so I’m feeling really confident. Hopefully I’ll get game time and kick on.”
It goes without saying that progress in the Sky Bet Championship is the club’s main priority heading into the 20/21 campaign, although the positive momentum generated by a cup run could prove to work wonders.
Styles is hopeful of overcoming the first hurdle and seeing where this competition takes Barnsley over the next few weeks.
“We’re obviously going to go out to win, but our main focus is on the league,” continued the 20-year-old. “Of course, we want to win as many games as possible and a good cup run is good for the team and momentum.
“Hopefully, if we do get a good cup run and the fans are allowed back in, it’d be good for us to draw a big Premier League club to gain the experience and, hopefully, win a game against a Premier League club.”
You can watch Callum’s full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.