Barnsley visit the Swansea.com today in a similar position to Derby County last weekend. They simply are running out of game time to save their season. Some will say that ship has long sailed and the tykes will merely play out their remaining games with only prove at stake.
Payo Asbaghi has been at Barnsley since November, the Iranian born coach has done little to prevent Barnsley’s slide back in to league one. In his nineteen games in charge he has only won four matches, and has a win percentage of around seventeen percent. A horrible track record. Last weekend Barnsley were beaten 4-1 by Millwall. The Barnsley boss made his bow in English football as a manager in the swans 2-0 victory at Oakwell in November. The visitors swept Barnsley away that evening.
Brad Collins their experienced keeper is out for the game so twenty three year old reserve keeper Jack Walton steps up. Collins is considered one of the reasons Barnsley have earned as many points as they have this season, he has kept eight clean sheets in forty games.
Keeper Collins out today
However, and there has to be extreme caution today by the swans. Barnsley’s four victories under Asbaghi have come against Queens Park Rangers, Middlesbrough, Hull City and Bristol City. Their sole away win came at Hull City in February during a run which saw the tykes win three out of four matches. Since then their form has been disastrous. Some of their closest games have come against what would be considered far superior opposition and that alone is a warning to Russell Martin today. He agrees "They’ve got a lot to play for. That’s what makes it so interesting. We played against them when the manager took over in his first game, since then, they've developed a clear way of doing things. We need to turn the game into a game we want it to be. We need the right intensity and mentality. I hope everyone turns up to the stadium knowing it’s a big game. They’re fighting for their lives."
Asbaghi believes his side cannot match the swans in ball retention but has thoughts on how his side can win the game "They're a very unique team in this league, there aren't many sides who play this way and we know we aren't going to beat them at possession, at keeping the ball. But what we can do is work harder than they can to make sure that when we do have the ball, we punish them. And we have players with the talent to hurt them. But again, we must give 100% and if we get the win we need, then it can be perfect for us in terms of momentum, to hopefully give us a chance to keep our season alive."
The swans will face an eager to impress team this afternoon at the swansea.com, a side who are really almost down and out but still have the remotest chance of survival. And as long as that chink of light is there the tykes will fight for their own survival.