Barnsley coach Gerhard Struber puts contract issue on back-burner

The Austrian arrived at the club in November and despite a moderate improvement in performances and results, the Oakwell outfit are seven points adrift of safety heading into their final nine games of 2019-20.

The former Wolfsberger AC chief said: “My future is in the short-term. We have nine games and my whole energy will go into these nine games.

“I will give my boys optimum feeling and a smart plan and after that, I have a contract and we’ll see what the situation is after the last game and I’ll reflect on the situation after that. I think we will create a good decision together and what is the best for everyone. After that, then we will see.

“I have a contract and this is the position.

“We have had a good development with the players and better results than before. Although it was not so difficult to bring better results! But, in the end, we stay in the relegation zone. This is fact.

“When we come out of the relegation zone in the end, we make a perfect job. I think we must speak about results. The results have gone better, but right now, it is not enough.

“We have nine games and time to bring the right results. Then, we can speak after the nine games.”

Barnsley resume their Championship campaign with a trip to bogey ground Loftus Road on Saturday, the first of nine ‘cup finals’ with the final appointment of the season to take place not too far away from QPR at Brentford’s Griffin Park in late July.

The Reds’ survival mission looks a daunting one, but Struber remains mindful of the fact that a number of teams are in the relegation picture, with his plan being to haul them closer to the Reds in the weeks ahead.

Unlike several rivals, Barnsley do not have many players whose deals finish at the end of the season, with the majority of their squad being under contract for next season and beyond.

The likes of Yorkshire rivals Hull City, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday have a number of players whose deals end at the conclusion of 2019-20, while third-from-bottom Charlton also have several players whose deals expire this summer.

Addicks top-scorer Lyle Taylor recently declared that he will not play for the remainder of the season in order not to jeopardise a move by potentially picking up a serious injury, but fresh reports suggest that he may backtrack and make himself available for the club after all.

Regardless of whether Taylor plays or not, he is one of a number of players at second-tier clubs who will have one eye on the future, whereas at Barnsley, there is a total focus among everyone on the here and now and not beyond that, according to Struber.

He added: “This is a decision for the player. We don’t have this problem and are happy with our exchanges with the boys.

“We have all the players until the last games and maybe this is an advantage.

“The most important thing is that we have all of the players available for the nine games.”

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