Age is no barrier to Mawson’s ability for lead role

DRESSING up Barnsley’s decidedly average start to the League One campaign is not Alfie Mawson’s style.
Barnsley captain Alfie Mawson. Picture: Tony Johnson.Barnsley captain Alfie Mawson. Picture: Tony Johnson.
Barnsley captain Alfie Mawson. Picture: Tony Johnson.

The young Reds captain may be a Londoner by birth, but he has quickly taken on the traits that any straight-talking Yorkshireman worth his salt would be proud of.

Neither can he expect rich tea and sympathy from his family when he discusses the opening throes of the season and neither would he appreciate any sweet-talking either.

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Barnsley’s fresh-faced charges may be the proverbial work in progress, with 14th place in League One after six matches being confirmation of that, but Mawson says he and his team-mates need to learn on the job faster.

Exhilarating against Everton and Millwall, but decidedly poor against Rochdale and off sync for spells against the likes of Burton and Shrewsbury, it’s been a see-saw opening to 2015-16 for Lee Johnson’s Reds – and the captain is certainly not shying away from it.

Mawson, who at 21 is one of the Reds’ youngest-ever captains, said: “To be honest, it’s not good enough and I am not happy where we are in the table.

“With three losses, two wins and a draw in the league – even though the cups were a very good experience – I’d have rather had three (league) wins than the defeats.

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Chesterfield beat us well and Rochdale battered us. I hold my hands up, we weren’t good enough. Shrewsbury could have gone either way, but they took their chances.

“At the moment, we need to speed up. We need to account for ourselves because at the end of the day, it’s us that are out there, not the gaffer or Tommy (Wright – coach).

“There are no excuses when you are out there, you’re a man, get on with it.”

Refreshingly honest with his words, Mawson is also candid about his own contributions so far this term in his maiden campaign at Oakwell and he is the first to admit he could have been better.

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As someone who makes no apologies about the importance of adhering to high standards, more especially as captain and leading by example, Mawson is clearly not entirely satisfied.

But, equally, the former Brentford defender is not one for dwelling on the past too much and is mindful that he and his team-mates need to concentrate on sharpening up and focusing on instigating a concerted and consistent response going forward.

He added: “It’s been a bit up and down (for me).

“It’s an honour to be captain, but in a few games, I have looked a bit leggy and been off the very high standards I set for myself. I get annoyed if I don’t maintain them.

“Like a lot of players in the side, I don’t want to settle for second best and we know what we are capable of.

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“We are a very young side and the way we train and the philosophy of football we want to go forward with is the right way.

“But I am not one to get down too much and I don’t want to walk around the training ground being annoyed with myself.

“I know what I have got to do and a lot of the players are like that. We need to brush it off; if we dwell on it too much, seeds of doubt grow in our minds and you aren’t going to get the best out of each other.”

Mawson has already sampled the good and the not so good as Reds captain and despite his tender years, he knows full well the importance of leaders taking the rough with the smooth especially given the nine-month marathon that is the perennial Football League slog.

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He is sure of another thing too, namely that he has the mentality to cope with the brickbats as well as the bouquets and prosper.

Mawson said: “Win, lose or draw, it’s going to make me a better leader and a better man.

“Leading the team out every week is a very proud moment for me, but it does hit harder when we lose.

“I talk to my family about it and get it out in the open. They will be the first people to criticise me and that’s what I need and understand and I wouldn’t want anything less. I brush it off and then go again.

“People look and maybe think: ‘you are too young’. But I don’t look at it that way at all. I have seen my fair share and know what it takes to be a better captain and player.”