Following our 2-0 victory over Brentford on Sunday afternoon, Valérien Ismaël feels his side are continuously growing in belief after putting in another magnificent performance.
The Reds have played exceptionally well over the last few weeks, but have not been getting the rewards that their displays deserved – but all that changed in west London at the weekend as everything came together seamlessly.
“It was really important for the guys before the game to say now it’s all about getting the results,” began Ismaël. “I’m overjoyed about the performance, but the result and how we played; we were always in control.
“For sure, the game against Chelsea gave the guys a lot of confidence to say: ‘if we can do this against Chelsea, we can do this in the Championship’ and this was clear to see what we can do.
“We had some rotation to keep the guys fresh and I think it was the perfect performance for us. Since I came here, it was our best week of work because of the postponed game with Derby – we had time to work with the guys and integrate the new players, more time to work with Dike and the two performances were perfect.”
Goals in either half from Conor Chaplin and Carlton Morris – his first for the club since joining from Norwich City in January – ensured Barnsley picked up their first Sky Bet Championship win of the year.
But it was the manner in which the Reds went about their business at the Brentford Community Stadium that was most pleasing for Ismaël, who credited every player for a stunning victory that ended the Bees’ 21-game unbeaten run.
“It was a team performance; the mindset from the guys is brilliant at the minute and we will need all the players,” continued our Head Coach.
“Now, we have to stay that way. We need 11 points to reach our purpose – the 50 point line – to stay in the league as quickly as possible. We need to keep the momentum going now and to prepare for the game against Blackburn.”
“If you see our schedule to the end of March, we play every three days and we will need all the players, we must make some rotation to give players rest to recover and be prepared for the next game.”
You can watch Valérien’s post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.
