Barnsley FC Comment: No League One play-off talk, but no dead rubbers either for Reds boss Darrell Clarke

It has sadly gone past the stage where anyone would be foolhardy enough to suggest with any semblance of conviction that it represents a window of opportunity in the club’s bid to gatecrash the play-offs.

These games, though – against Cambridge United, Exeter City, Peterborough United and Shrewsbury Town – could yet carry major importance for Darrell Clarke.

The Reds chief has been left to pick up the pieces after too many awful home results to mention so far in 2024-25 and won’t need more confirmation of that fact from anyone.

Saturday’s grim Roses loss to Blackpool was a case in point when he faced the music for seemingly the umpteenth time so far this term.

All three unanswered goals arrived on the resumption and took the number of home concessions in the second half of games at Oakwell this season to an unacceptable tally of 23. It is comfortably the worst total in the division.

In the here and now, there is some mitigation.

Clarke’s side are suffering from an untimely selection crisis. Eight players – Adam Phillips, Josh Earl, Joe Gauci, Georgie Gent, Jonathan Lewis, Donovan Pines, Fabio Jalo and Barry Cotter missed the woeful 3-0 defeat due to injury.

Another in Mael de Gevigney was suspended.

Some lamentable recruitment in the winter window has exacerbated the problems Clarke is currently facing.

The mood music among many disgruntled supporters is distinctly unharmonious and discordant and so he and his players must also deal with that backdrop.

There are some similarities with the Reds' Yorkshire neighbours Huddersfield Town, where significant injury problems, coupled with fans’ angst regarding recruitment and form, culminated in their decision at the start of this week to controversially part company with ex-Oakwell chief Michael Duff.

Like Duff – someone whom he knows well – Clarke has not had much luck. For all that, Clarke has been around the block long enough to know that another bruising episode on home soil in the near future would leave him particularly exposed.

As with Duff, home numbers are something that can be utilised as a stick to beat him with.

There are ‘ways’ of losing and as he said after Saturday's game, this was not the right way. Once again, he referenced his side being ‘soft’ and ‘flaky’ and understanding fans’ frustrations. It had a ‘Groundhog Day’ feel.

More punishment and another bad result has the potential to tip things over the edge at a time of year when sections of wavering home supporters will be debating over whether to renew season tickets. It could well rely on what happens this spring and they will require something to ‘buy’ into.

Barnsley have five home games remaining in a troubled 24-25, including four against teams in varying degrees of bother.

The outlier is a home appointment with a Bolton Wanderers side who have kicked on in the last few months and are in the sort of position which the Reds were envisaging being in not so long back. A proud manager, Clarke is also a battle-hardened fighter and his side closed ranks relatively recently to chisel out important wins over Rotherham United, Northampton Town and Lincoln City.

Should Clarke and his Reds players dig themselves out of a spot again, it would make for an uplifting spring story.

This time last year, Graham Alexander did exactly that at Bradford City. Form was bad and City lost four games in a row including a wretched derby loss at Harrogate Town.

Despite a mutinous mood among fans towards those on the pitch and the club’s hierarchy, Alexander bought himself time with wins. City may have missed out on the League Two play-offs, but triumphed in five of their last six games and the summer vibe changed, at least. And they aren’t doing so bad this year, are they?

Clarke plainly needs some of that.

If Barnsley can maintain their commendable away form in the circumstances and manage to accrue a double-figure points haul from those aforementioned home matches, then he will have earned the right to fight on at a club crying out for some managerial stability.

It’s why these particular games mentioned look so important and have little to do with the play-offs. For Clarke, they won’t be dead rubbers and could well decide his future. On Saturday, Barnsley head to a place Clarke knows well in hometown club Mansfield Town.

This time last year, Barnsley's form nosedived in the run-in and Neill Collins paid the price. Clarke needs results to avoid a repetition.