Following our 4-1 defeat at Fulham on Saturday afternoon, Jo Laumann praised the Reds’ continued work rate against arguably the Sky Bet Championship’s best side.
Barnsley gave a decent account of themselves in spells during the game and fully merited the late goal, but the Cottagers’ superiority shone through during a tough assignment in the capital.
“We had a good start in the game,” said Laumann. “We changed the formation and looked good but we didn’t hurt them in our offensive transition – we weren’t clinical – and then we ended up defending our own goal.
“It was a good start, but the first ball they had into the box was direct for a goal and these are the things that happen to you sometimes when you’re down in the table. We had a good shot from Mally – if that went in, it might have changed the game and given us some sort of confidence.
“But it is what it is; we played a very good side with good players, and we need to keep going.”
The result sees Fulham climb to the top of the pile and in Aleksandar Mitrović have the form striker in Europe at this present time.
Add to that the individual qualities of Tom Cairney, Neeskens Kebano, Harry Wilson and Fabio Carvalho, and it was always likely to be a ‘backs to the wall’ job for the Reds at Craven Cottage.
“For me, they’re the best footballing side in this league,” discussed Laumann. “They’re one of the top two sides – them and Bournemouth are the best two teams in the league.
“We showed in the first 20 minutes that we can work against those teams, but in the end it was not enough.”
Up next for Barnsley is a home test against Swansea City on Wednesday evening, when Poya Asbaghi will be making his Oakwell debut in the dugout.
Our new Head Coach will take training for the first time on Monday, and Laumann is eagerly anticipating getting started and helping the Reds move forward.
“We’re going to meet before and talk about things,” he continued. “I’m looking forward to getting a fresh new start, and then we’ll see.”
You can watch Jo’s post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.