BITTERLY disappointed Barnsley head coach Daniel Stendel confirmed that he is planning to speak with majority shareholder/chairman Neerav Parekh about how to best 'help the players' after his Reds side saw their winless League One sequence extend to nine matches following a damaging 2-1 Roses reverse at fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic.

His side's inexperience and lack of hardened nous and game management at third-tier level was again exposed as Barnsley slumped to fifth successive loss away from home.

On a day when the Oakwell outfit could have moved out of the bottom four with victory, it was Wigan who achieved that aim.

Without a league win since September 2, second-from-bottom Barnsley welcome Sheffield Wednesday on Friday.

Barnsley head coach Daniel Stendel, pictured at the Brick Community Stadium, Wigan. Photo: Tony Johnson.

placeholder image — Barnsley head coach Daniel Stendel, pictured at the Brick Community Stadium, Wigan. Photo: Tony Johnson.

Stendel, who has a regular line of communication with the Reds supremo – said: "I talked with some players right after the game. We have some ideas (to hopefully change things). I will speak with Neerav tomorrow and then we'll have a look at what we can do to help the players.

"The one and only thing we can do is stand up (and be counted). The derby is a big game, not only in our situation, but also for the club and for the supporters. It's a big opportunity for us to give a little bit back from what we got today from our supporters."

Asked what he would be speaking to Parekh about the prospect of bringing in some further free agent signings before the January window, he added: "No. Only about the (general) situation, how we can help the players to sort out the situation.

"I think for a lot of players, it's the first time in this situation."

Disapointment for Barnsley's Sam Gale at the end of the match against Wigan. Photo: Tony Johnson.

Wigan took the lead on 36 minutes through Fraser Murray, but captain Cam McGeehan levelled on 57 minutes for the Reds, who seemingly had the momentum to push on and get a winner.

But a dreadful concession on 75 minutes settled the game in Wigan's favour with Jensen Weir netting - with Ziyad Larkeche and Cieran Slicker being culpable.

Stendel added: "I think our expectation in this game was more, especially after the last two weeks with good games and a lot of goals that we scored and the atmosphere.

"For me, I can only explain maybe for some players that the pressure was too much to play a normal game today, especially in the first half.

"We said we wanted to stay more compact, but we didn't say we wanted to play so passive like in the first half.

"After we conceded the goal, we had to do more in the second half. We came back and the momentum on our side for a short time, we had the chance to score the second goal, but in the end we conceded the goal and we didn't really have a chance to score the (second) goal today. We were disappointed and frustrated.

"Maybe it was too much for some players after Wednesday, I don't know, but it was not what we expected."