Despite seeing his side claim three more valuable points in the race for the play-offs, Valérien Ismaël expressed his concerns at Barnsley’s overall display in the 1-0 victory against Rotherham United.
The Reds were indebted to an inspirational Brad Collins, who made a string of magnificent saves to keep the visitors at bay during a tricky encounter at Oakwell on Saturday afternoon.
“I think it was a really poor performance,” admitted Ismaël. “The result was the big thing for us and Bradley Collins saved the game and, for me, was the man of the match but I think we didn’t really come into the game.
“They were the better team and deserved more; we have to say this to stay fair. But, in that situation, it doesn’t matter because in two weeks no one will speak about the performance against Rotherham, just about the three points.”
That result leaves Barnsley on the brink of securing a top six finish this campaign and know that anything but a win for Reading against Swansea City on Sunday will be enough to see them over the line.
Given where the Reds were less than 12 months ago, the turnaround has been sensational to say the least and Ismaël praised his players for their consistency throughout the campaign.
“To have 77 points is a massive, massive performance from the guys,” continued our Head Coach. “I just want to have an overview of the season so far and how we perform all the time; it’s incredible and I’m so proud of the guys.
“We give our fans joy, belief and satisfaction after such a difficult time with the pandemic – things are going in the right direction at the moment in the UK, but I think we are really proud of our performance so far.”
You can watch Valérien’s post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.
