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Blame players and not the manager, says Barnsley defender
BARNSLEY defender Rob Kozluk says the players need to take responsibility for the club's poor performance this season and not manager Simon Davey.
Welshman Davey is under pressure to quit from a section of the club's supporters after three consecutive battles against relegation.
The Tykes secured Championship survival again thanks to a 2-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle on the final day of the season and Davey is expected to hold talks over his future with owner Patrick Cryne in the next two weeks.
Kozluk, who revealed that he would also like to stay at Oakwell, said: "We cannot hide behind the manager in this situation. He has prepared us for every game and put the players out. At the end of the day, the players have been the ones not doing it – not the manager – and we have to take the responsibility.
"We have stayed up again but overall it has been a disappointing season. We are not a team that should have been in this position on the final day of the season.
"It's only been a cat's whisker between winning and losing some games. Mentally, we have to learn to see games out. We have to play for 90 minutes because there have been too many occasions where we have gone 1-0 up and thought we had done enough."
Out of contract, former Sheffield United defender Kozluk has been linked with a move to Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace this summer.
Commenting on his future, however, the 31-year-old said: "I am not looking at this as my last game for the club because I don't want to move.
"Barnsley gave me a chance after I left Sheffield United two years ago and if I can stay on I would rather stay.
"Even if you get other offers on the table, you always have to think about the club that gave you a chance," he added. "But I am out of contract and, as yet, I have not been offered anything."
Club captain Stephen Foster, meanwhile, added his voice to the campaign for Davey to stay.
Foster said: "Of course, I hope the manager stays. There has been a lot of pressure on his shoulders, especially over the last couple of weeks. The fans demand a lot.
"We are disappointed with only staying up on the final day but, when you look at the teams who have gone down – Charlton, Southampton, Norwich – they are massive clubs and it shows how difficult this league is.
"I am not trying to hide behind that and say that we are just pleased to stay up. We expect a lot more than ourselves – but this is a difficult league and it will get tougher next season with the teams coming down.
"There is plenty of room for improvement next season but there have been a few games this season where we have really shown what we are about," he added.
"We have to look at reproducing that on a regular basis. Hopefully, we can bring one or two faces in during the summer to make us stronger."
Goalkeeper Luke Steele, who played a vital role after returning to the side for the final four games of the season, is another player out of contract this summer but keen to stay.
The former Manchester United youngster said: "I have not stressed enough that I want to stay. There is something about this club I really love. I have visions of how I want to progress with this club.
"We wanted to get the games over with before talking about contracts," he stressed. "We have not been beaten since I came back and I think I have played well but I was not in the side for seven months and I feel like I have got a lot more to give. Hopefully, they will give me the chance."
Steele joined the club last season from West Bromwich Albion and was in the side that reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
"There is more relief involved in surviving," he said. "People didn't expect us to get to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but they did expect us to survive. We had to stay in this league and it was a big pressure. Now we have achieved that goal, it feels like we have won a mini-trophy."
Davey is hoping to keep Liverpool winger Adam Hammill, whose loan deal has expired but it is understood that Brazilian defender Dennis Souza and Spanish midfielder Diego Leon are surplus to requirements and will be leaving.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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