Barnsley coach Gerhard Struber grateful for helpful boost from Leeds United’s Marcelo Bielsa

BARNSLEY head coach Gerhard Struber has revealed that a ‘very secret message’ from Leeds United counterpart Marcelo Bielsa has provided him with a big fillip in the Reds’ relegation fight.
Barnsley head coach Gerhard Struber., pictured on the Elland Road touchline during his side's 1-0 defeat to Leeds last week. 
Picture: Jonathan GawthorpeBarnsley head coach Gerhard Struber., pictured on the Elland Road touchline during his side's 1-0 defeat to Leeds last week. 
Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe
Barnsley head coach Gerhard Struber., pictured on the Elland Road touchline during his side's 1-0 defeat to Leeds last week. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

Struber and Bielsa embraced at the final whistle of last Thursday’s game which ended in a fortunate 1-0 victory for the hosts.

Bielsa admitted afterwards that he told his opposite number that Barnsley had deserved a different result after Leeds propelled themselves to the cusp of automatic promotion with the title having since been confirmed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Struber, whose Reds side took their survival fates to the final day at Brentford tomorrow after Sunday’s dramatic events against Nottingham Forest at Oakwell said: “He is a very special coach and he told me a very secret message which is not for everyone.

Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa, pictured on the touchline during last Thursday's 1-0 win over Barnsley at Elland Road. Picture: Jonathan GawthorpeLeeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa, pictured on the touchline during last Thursday's 1-0 win over Barnsley at Elland Road. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa, pictured on the touchline during last Thursday's 1-0 win over Barnsley at Elland Road. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

“This is only for Bielsa and me. It was helpful in this moment.

“I will treasure it 100 per cent.”

It promises to be an evening not for the faint-hearted at Griffin Park, but Struber is adamant that it will be the hosts who are saddled with the most pressure.

Barnsley head into their final-day Championship game at the promotion-chasing Bees on the back of a thrilling last-gasp win over Forest – when the Reds were effectively three minutes away from a return to League One before substitute Patrick Schmidt’s scrambled winner in the third minute of stoppage time.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They now need to surpass those heroics by spoiling the Bees’ final scheduled game at Griffin Park – where the hosts will secure automatic promotion if they win and West Brom fail to beat visiting QPR.

To stay up, Barnsley need to win and hope that Luton fail to beat visiting Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic lose at newly-crowned champions Leeds.

Struber, who welcomes Elliot Simoes back into the fray on Wednesday, said: “Brentford have big pressure. They have a lot of pressure. I think we have experience with pressure this season.

“Both teams have a lot of pressure, but especially Brentford. They can go directly to the Premier League and they have a lot of pressure.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But my thoughts and energy is not so much on Brentford, but on my team and we work for a very good plan.

“It is a big task, but I like big tasks and challenges on this level. Also my boys (do).”

Editor’s note: First and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you. James Mitchinson, Editor

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.