Barnsley FC head coach Daniel Stendel on chats with owners amid testing League One times
IN hard times at football clubs, communication off the pitch is every bit as important as on it.
Barnsley are in the midst of such a moment.
It is fair to say that 2026 has been a forgettable one thus far for the Reds, not least for increasingly exasperated sections of their fanbase.
The decision to bring in Daniel Stendel for a second spell at Oakwell, a popular one in fairness, has not preceded an upturn in League One fortunes.
They head into Saturday’s game against Cambridge United on the back of a seven-match winless sequence in all competitions.
Stendel's side have conceded 23 times in this period and their lack of hardened experience and nous at third-tier is being worryingly exposed.
They now face a U’s side who arrive at Oakwell in fifth place. A strong physical outfit, they are ‘a man’s team’ in the words of Stendel, pictured. A bit different to his own, as it stands.
Early days it may be and Stendel is not one to take much notice of the table at the minute. Fans do, that said, and Barnsley are in 19th place.
The concern is that things could get worse before they get better, given that the Reds’ hierarchy’s decision to go for young, promising, up-and-coming players has a trade-off. More especially if this season descends into a battle for survival.
Stendel would be forgiven for feeling a touch exposed. He is quick to stress that the communication lines with the club’s owners remain good and that there is a bigger picture.
Barnsley added to their group on Thursday with the signing of former Watford striker Tobi Adeyemo on an initial one-year deal, with the club holding a further 12-month option.
The 21-year-old, who had a loan spell at Crawley Town earlier this year, had been on trial at Oakwell.
Stendel said: "I talk with Neerav (Parekh – chairman) and I think what we say is we're realistic.
“We look at our team at the moment and what we can do better. It's clear that we want to do things better.
“But there's a lot of changes. We don't spend a lot of money and have the best players in the league, but we have good young players and we sign a lot of players that can improve. This is our reason why we signed them in a quick time and we worked for that.
“Everybody can believe that we are doing everything to improve our group and take us to the next step.
“You can hope it will take less time and everything will happen really quick. But when you look at the league and the teams in the league and the situations, we've won two games only and two draws.
“But I do not have the feeling that we haven’t had the chance to win the games (mostly)."
Recent signing Daniel Johnson could be involved on Saturday if he shrugs off an issue picked up in training on Monday.
The game comes too soon for Cieran Slicker, back in team training. Tyrese Noslin, Connor O'Riordan and Makenzie Kirk are available, but Ben Hamed Toure, Ziyad Larkeche and Luca Connell won’t be involved.