In the wake our deflating 1-0 defeat at Coventry City, Callum Brittain gave an honest assessment when speaking to iFollow Barnsley.
The Reds were within minutes of securing a valuable point at the CBS Arena before Dominic Hyam pounced in the dying embers to snatch victory for the hosts, leaving us nine points from safety at the foot of the table.
“It’s frustrating, it’s upsetting – it sums our season up, really,” admitted Brittain.
“I think the first half was even and then, second half, they came out and looked strong, dominated the ball, and I think we defended well for 90 minutes. We put bodies on the line, made them go back, didn’t really give them many clear-cut chances and, unfortunately, it’s a mistake that’s cost us the game.”
Barnsley are back in action on Tuesday evening as we make the trip north to face Hull City, in what is another crucial game in our bid to retain our Sky Bet Championship status.
Brittain says he and his teammates can’t let their thoughts linger on this latest damaging loss, insisting that they need to take responsibility to give themselves a fighting chance.
“As frustrating as it is, we need to move onto Tuesday,” continued the 23-year-old. “If we dwell on it, then 15 games are going to go and we’re going to be in League One. It’s as simple as that.
“We need to move onto the next game and we need to focus on Tuesday. I think if we defend like we did for the 90 minutes, I think we’ll keep more clean sheets than we don’t.
“But we need to be realistic now; we’ve got 15 games and it’s pretty much a four-team table for us. We need to get our heads out of the sand and really kick on. We need to take risks, we need to be braver, we need to be more vocal and we need to be together as a team or the inevitable is going to happen.”
On a personal note for our wing-back, it was good to be back in the thick of things after spending five weeks sidelined with a niggling quad injury.
Brittain has been outstanding for the Reds since arriving from MK Dons at the start of last season, and he is aiming to get some more game time under his belt when we face Hull in midweek.
“It a bit of a shock to the system – a bit of a shock to the legs – I haven’t been injured many times, but I enjoyed it,” he reflected. “I just love playing football, so it was good to be out there.
“It’s all part of the process and it was good to get the minutes in the bank, and hopefully I can get more in on Tuesday.”
You can watch Callum's post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.
