'Absolutely shocking': Darrell Clarke slams sorry Barnsley FC show while praising the club's 'unbelievable' support at Manchester United
ANGRY Barnsley head coach Darrell Clarke revealed that he had a pop at his players in the dressing room following his side’s sorry 7-0 Carabao Cup hammering at Manchester United – and slammed their collective decision-making as ‘absolutely shocking.’
Barnsley endured a nightmare at the Theatre of Dreams on an evening when Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen plundered doubles.
The scoreline repeated the Reds’ mauling at the hands of United on their last league visit in the autumn of 1997.
In the here and now, the manner of the setback again exposed Barnsley’s defensive sojourns this season. They have conceded 10 goals in their last two matches and 20 in 10 games in all competitions so far this term.
Clarke, a boyhood United fan, said: “I have had a go at the boys in there. I wasn’t happy with the performance.
"I know Man United have world-class players, but I wasn’t happy with how we played. I have got to be brutally honest. I thought we were very disappointing and I think Maels (de Gevigney) was the only player that comes out with credit.
"Did the occasion get to some of them? Yes, probably.
"But my players have to understand what it takes to be a top, top player. Don’t ever let me hear one of my players talking to me about how bad some Premier League players are because they just realised what the standard is.
"The players were miles off the standards they need to be to a top Barnsley player, to be honest. Never mind a top Premier League player.
"The goals were absolutely shocking with the decision making at times. The performance was nowhere near the standards we need to be at.
"To come here was a proud night for myself, but it has been ruined by the lack of a performance we put in, to be honest.”
Clarke reserved praise for the unstinting backing of the 6,500-strong Barnsley travelling support, whose backing was non-stop despite very trying circumstances, especially in the second half.
Clarke added: "What I will say is that I cannot thank our fans enough. There were absolutely unbelievable.
"I said to my players in there that they didn’t deserve that. They paid a fortune to come to this game and backed us in their numbers in every minute of the game.
"We must repay the fans with a proper performance on Saturday. End of.
"They were first-class. And I am not just saying it for the sake of saying it. I really mean that. It was probably an undeserved reception at the end. They never stopped singing all game. We owe them.”