Barnsley FC boss Neill Collins on why he is delighted with midfield duo Jon Russell and Callum Styles

That came to the fore in Saturday's remarkable 7-0 blitzing of Port Vale, with Neill Collins reserving praise for two of those who lined up in the middle of the park in Jon Russell and Callum Styles.

Russell, busy over the summer representing Jamaica in the Gold Cup, impressed despite only playing a small amount of pre-season under new head coach Collins.

He showed tantalising glimpses of the quality which had come to the fore in his breakthrough spell at Huddersfield Town and scored a clinical header - his maiden goal for the Reds and first in English football since netting for Town in April 2022.

It gave fuel to the argument that the 22-year-old can be a big player for Barnsley this season - all being well.

Collins said: "Jon is a young player and he had a very good presence at Huddersfield at some point.

"It says a lot about him that he came back early when we really needed him.

"Him, Corey O'Keeffe and Max Watters started at the weekend after playing 45 minutes for us in pre-season, that's all.

"When you win 7-0, it is great as people are just happy you got the job done. But if it hadn't been, we'd have all pointed towards the fact that these guys probably wouldn't have started as it wasn't ideal.

"I was excited to see Jon continue to play and get fitter and fitter. We know he's got quality and a good guy to have around."

The contribution of Styles was also not lost upon Collins with the Scot also full of praise for the way he has been conducting himself despite his future continuing to be uncertain - with the player known to be keen to play in the Championship. He spent last season on loan at Millwall.

Collins added: "Callum's talent is undoubted and again for me, he has been excellent in pre-season. As long as I have got players like that, I will be delighted.

"I hope I can just help him continue to improve and become the player he has got the potential to be. He's definitely enjoyable for everyone to watch."