Barnsley double act Ganaye and Heckingbottom mined from the same seam

Gauthier Ganaye and Paul Heckingbottom may hail from opposite sides of the English Channel and have different mother tongues, but in many ways, they speak a common language.

And they certainly share a common cause. The betterment of Barnsley Football Club and their willingness to work copious amounts of overtime to achieve that.

It is probably just as well. Just as head coach Heckingbottom is entrusted with building a new side fit for Championship purpose in double-quick time, minus several of last season’s leading lights, so chief executive officer Ganaye is assigned with fulfilling his hefty side of the bargain.

The 29-year-old, who joined Barnsley from French second division club RC Lens earlier this summer, has been working flat-out on the recruitment front since officially starting work on June 12 – with next to no time to enjoy anything resembling the traditional ‘bedding-in’ process.

Ten new signings have arrived so far, with the Reds seeking four more before the end of the summer transfer window – and you suspect Ganaye will not settle until that is achieved.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “Our work is not finished yet.

“It is an extremely busy time and I am spending all of it working here at the office or when I am not here, working at home. I did not expect anything else and I knew it would be busy and it is. But we need the job to be done –and be done quick quickly, so this is normal.

“I did my homework before I came here and am focusing 100 per cent on the recruitment side at the moment.

“I will have more time in the next few months to focus on the other aspects of the business. But mostly, it is recruitment at the minute.

“It is a pleasure to work with Paul. We both want to do the job quite quickly and get it all done and are very focused on that and spend a lot of time together. Everybody knows what we have to do and we are a good team together.

“We are happy about what we have done so far. But we are always looking at what we still have to do. I will be happy when the team are ready and we have done all of our shopping. And after, I will be looking forward to seeing how we do.”

Ganaye’s roots may be in northern France, but his time at Lens – a town synonymous with coal mining just like his new place of work – has provided him with an invaluable cultural perspective for his new position in Barnsley.

Famously, Lens’ nickname is Sang et Or – Blood and Gold – with their colours historically linked to their town’s mining heritage, with the red supposedly depicting the blood of the miners and the gold representing the once-valuable coal.

Ganaye, whose wife is Scottish, said: “I have worked for the football industry for a few years now and when you work in football, I think you should experience working in the UK.

“There are similarities between Lens and Barnsley with both playing a big part in the community and having a special place. There is a special bond between the fans and the clubs.

“At Lens, it had a big structure with a big training camp and it was different. But the two clubs have their strong links in the community as something that is common.

“I have had lots of lovely, warm messages from supporters here and it is nice to meet people in the town and we will organise a fans’ forum soon when we have the time.”

Alongside the plethora of new recruits, just a small gathering of mainstays remain from last term, including comfortably the Reds’ most experienced player in Adam Hammill, a comparative ‘veteran’ in a coltish line-up, at the age of 29.

Incredibly, the winger and goalkeeper Adam Davies are the only survivors from the promotion winning side who triumphed at Wembley just 14 months ago, although former loan player Lloyd Isgrove has linked up for a second spell with the club.

Many other leading players may have departed, but Hammill has revealed that he would ideally like to finish his playing days in at Oakwell – which very much represents ‘his’ club.

Hammill, who has another year on his deal, said: “Most definitely, it would be ideal for me. There are opportunities that arise which may not be in this country and might be abroad. But as a family, you sit down and discuss these things. My missus knows I am solely focused on Barnsley and I would like to see my career out here.”

Meanwhile, Heckingbottom has confirmed that Barnsley have received no fresh bids for transfer target Andy Yiadom – and hopes that the club’s declaration and intent that they will not sell the utility man on the cheap will ward off any further offers.

Yiadom has been the subject of one bid, labelled as “derisory” by the Oakwell club from Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town and has also been strongly linked with a move to Swansea City, with Reading also said to be interested.

Reports have circulated that the Swans have bid £3m for Yiadom, but Heckingbottom has dismissed that particular story.

He said: “We have been clear that no-one is going to get him on the cheap and after being really clear about that, they (clubs) seem to have backed off.

“So maybe that is what they were thinking; they could get real good value. And now they know what they would have to pay, they seem to have quietened down about it.”