With just 10 games of their League One season remaining, the Reds have rolled the dice and given Conor Hourihane a chance to step up as interim boss. The former Barnsley captain had been serving as part of Clarke’s backroom team, having retired as a player.
Barnsley sit 10th in the third tier, eight points adrift of the play-offs. Hourihane faces an uphill battle to push the club back into the promotion picture – and potentially give himself a chance of filling the post permanently.
The club’s sporting director Mladen Sormaz said: "Darrell is someone I respect and have enjoyed working with and I’d like to thank him for his efforts this season.
"Whilst a list of replacements has been identified, we will take some time to ensure the next appointment is the right one with a focus on playing identity, returning to high pressing and attacking football.
"We believe that Conor can help to create enough bounce to keep us fighting for the top six until the end of the season. We will also be working in parallel to have a new head coach in place over the summer.”
Reds chairman Neerav Parekh added: “We would like to thank Darrell for his efforts in a season which has been difficult for various reasons. Darrell has worked extremely hard to try and get the team competitive and pushing for promotion, unfortunately, we find ourselves eight points away from the play-offs and feel that a change is needed.”
Here are the early frontrunners to become Barnsley’s next permanent head coach, courtesy of BonusCodeBets, featuring faces familiar with fans of clubs such as Huddersfield Town, Rotherham United and Sunderland.
1. Frontrunners to be Barnsley's next permanent head coach
A look at the early frontrunners to take charge of Barnsley at the end of the season. Photo: Pete Norton/Getty Images
