Barnsley FC chief Darrell Clarke on why attack remains the best form of defence for League One promotion chasers

AS far as Darrell Clarke is concerned, attack will remain the best form of defence for his Barnsley side.

And the Reds head coach has pledged that his team will remain true to their attacking instincts amid a top-six tilt which has been galvanised since Christmas.

A frozen pitch at Shrewsbury ensured that fifth-placed Barnsley’s hopes of a fifth successive victory were stopped in their tracks last weekend.

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The Reds, in possession of one of the best EFL away records in the country for a second consecutive season, are due to hit the road south again this weekend, to Clarke’s former club Bristol Rovers as they seek a ninth success on their travels in 2024-25.

Barnsley head coach Darrell Clarke. Picture: Tony Johnson.Barnsley head coach Darrell Clarke. Picture: Tony Johnson.
Barnsley head coach Darrell Clarke. Picture: Tony Johnson.

Defensively, Barnsley’s record has been modest so far this term. Only two sides have let in more League One goals on home soil, while seven teams also have better defensive numbers in terms of goals conceded away from home.

On the flip side, only two sides, the current top two of Birmingham City (41) and Wycombe Wanderers (50) have scored more goals than the Reds’ tally of 39, home and away.

Clarke said: "There’s all different areas of what we need to be doing. Clean sheets would be a massive plus, but I also want to attack.

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"We are up there in the high finishing marks. We lost a lot of goals last season, don’t forget, but we are right up there in the scoring stakes.

"I want my team to be on the front foot and scoring goals and try and entertain. That’s important."

For Clarke, an understandable focus in the new year is ensuring a permanent remedy to their issues at Oakwell.

It has certainly started well in that regard in 2025, courtesy of much-needed back-to-back wins over Crawley Town and Wrexham, with just one goal also conceded.

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Clarke insists that Barnsley are not yet in a place where they can say that their home form is fully resolved, with just four wins in 13 matches thus far.

He added: "We had the best away form across the whole EFL in 2024. That’s massive. Can we keep that going and do well at home? That’s the key.

"We’ve started the new year well with back to back home wins and we have to continue that as we’re nowhere near over the line with our home form yet.

"We have to keep building.

"With our away form, although we’ve done a considerable amount of work, we also want more."

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