Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber slams 'worst performance' of his Barnsley reign after defeat to Preston North End

Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber. PIC: Bruce Rollinson.

REPORT: Barnsley 0 Preston North End 3 - Reds' unbeaten home run under Gerhard Struber ended as survival hopes hit by further blow.

The Austrian cut a frustrated figure at the full-time whistle as his undefeated run at Oakwell was ended.

The result leaves the Reds with plenty to do in their fight to avoid relegation, as they now sit four points behind Stoke City having played a game more.

Preston celebrate their second goal at Oakwell. PIC: Bruce Rollinson.

“This was absolutely the worst performance since I have been here in Barnsley,” admitted Struber.

“The first half was not to our standard and we did not play in a professional style. It was not good enough to pick up points or to stay in the league.”

Struber was disappointed by the nature of Preston’s goals as they twice pounced on errors from the home side to kill the contest by the interval.

Tom Barkhuizen opened and closed the scoring while Daniel Johnson scored North End’s second after reacting quickest to a rebound.

“It’s normal that you can lose games but it is how you lose a game. The opponent’s goals were so simple,” Struber added.

“The mistakes crashed our spirit and our energy. The body language after the goals was not ok and that was the big surprise to me.”

Struber feels that the league defeat was a “step back” for the Tykes but hopes that they can make strides forward in Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round clash at Portsmouth.

Barnsley beat Crewe Alexandra 3-1 to book their place in the last 32 and Struber insists there will be plenty of hard work on the training pitch between now and the Reds' trip to the south coast.

“We will do a lot of hard work this week and I will have a talk with one or two players who did not play to our standards,” he said.

"Fans go home after a game at Barnsley and they are not happy with the mistakes and the body language and the conviction of the players.

“This is one step back but we can show on Saturday that we make two steps forwards. I believe in my team 100 per cent.”