Speaking after our fourth consecutive Sky Bet Championship victory, Valérien Ismaël expressed his delight at Barnsley’s ability to adapt to certain situations in recent weeks.
The Reds ran out 2-0 winners against Stoke City on Wednesday evening but were rarely threatened by the play-off chasing Potters, who were limited to half-chances from set-pieces.
It was another impressive performance from Ismaël’s side, who are edging closer to his 50-point target with just under a third of the campaign remaining.
“Congratulations to the guys for the win,” beamed our Head Coach, speaking to iFollow Barnsley. “It was really important for us to make the next step in the right direction; we continue to move on the table. It was a big fight; we started very strong in the game and scored a very nice goal.
“We showed our capability to adapt now and to understand in that situation what you need to do to win the game – if you need to press, if you need to fight, if you need to play more direct, to win the second ball or to have the set-pieces to make the difference.
“I think that the last two games were really clear that the guys are more adaptable.”
Callum Styles got the ball rolling with a stupendous strike from 25-yards inside the opening nine minutes before Daryl Dike bagged his first Reds goal late on to seal all three points.
Ismaël was thrilled to see both players on the scoresheet – particularly our American forward, who has added a new dimension since arriving on loan from Orlando City.
“This season, Callum has scored a lot of fantastic goals and this is the ‘Stylesy special’,” continued the Frenchman. “But I’m more delighted about the Dike goal – it’s important for him, the guys and the team spirit for him to have that breakthrough in that moment in a very important game.
“This was a battle and Saturday will be a fight. We are more ready, we are prepared, we have the confidence and we need to keep the momentum going.”
You can watch Valérien’s post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.
