Barnsley FC signing and former Chelsea, Norwich City and Hartlepool United keeper Ben Killip opens up on his tough journey to Oakwell and League One

The Londoner had a roller-coaster time at previous club Hartlepool United – sharing in the highs of promotion to the Football League in 2021 and then suffering the pain of relegation back to the National League from whence Pools came in May.

That said, proving himself in the fifth tier of English football was, ultimately, the making of Killip. As it arguably has been for fellow signings Kacper Lopata, Andy Dallas and Kyran Lofthouse.

Another arrival in Max Watters has also done the hard yards even lower down on the non-league circuit, while sampling the ‘real world’ in working for his father’s removal business in his mid teens.

While several Reds newcomers have not necessarily attracted a great amount of fanfare, their journeys at least point to their character alongside aptitude following some early disappointments.

Their experiences are worthy of respect – and there will be no lack of gratitude in terms of what they have at Oakwell on the eve of the new season or desire to grasp their opportunities with both hands.

For Killip, League One will have seemed a world away when he was seeking to prove himself at National League Braintree Town in 2018-19 – following his release by Grimsby Town. He ended that season as captain.

Killip, who has signed a one-year deal with the Reds – with the option of a further 12 months – told The Yorkshire Post: “There were some real hard points.

“In my career, I'd been at Chelsea and Norwich (as a youngster) and then had one year at Grimsby in League Two and my first chance to be a starting goalkeeper at a club was at a part-time club in non-league that I'd never heard of (Braintree).

"All the lads were coming from work and turning up late and everyone was wearing their own gear.

"But you get the appreciation and gratitude of then being at a club and doing things properly as I was 'spoilt' as a kid when you are in a bubble. That (Braintree) was a culture shock and really hard.

“I was getting asked to sign month to month contracts and I was like 'What is that?' I didn't even understand what it was.

"I was training by myself in the park twice a day and then going into the gym and then the sessions on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

"It was incredibly difficult, but I managed to come through that and did well. I thought that I could overcome that, I could overcome anything, really.

"The way I was training, I was probably doing more than I did full time as I didn't have any choice. I didn't have another skillset to go into another walk of life.

“This (football career) was everything I had known since I was four or five – my mum, dad, brothers and sisters; everything.“I'd not even let that thought of having to do something else into my mind. I gave everything to get back to where I can.”

In his four years at Pools, Killip played around 150 times. He will recall their promotion campaign with fondness, less so the on-pitch events of last season when he had spells out of the side.

For his sake, there was at least a modicum of personal consolation in terms of remaining in the Football League by virtue of his move to South Yorkshire.

The goalkeeper he is now competing with for number one duties at Oakwell in Liam Roberts was also resident by the Tees last season at Middlesbrough and had a mixed time of it.

As for the fight to be the regular keeper at Barnsley, it will be a good one, Killip has stressed.

"Liam has come in and is a good lad and I get on well with him and I can see his quality as well,” Killip continued.

“He got in the (League Two) team of the year for Northampton a couple of years ago and did well. It will be a good fight.

"I knew in the majority of last season that it would be my last year at Hartlepool and that I wanted to leave and move on as I'd been there a while. I thought it was time for a change. Last season was very difficult from the start of pre-season to the end. I got on well with (ex-manager Paul) Hartley, but we struggled to get the players and ultimately started the season poorly and never kicked on.

"I knew I'd done well in spells last season and over the past four years, I was pretty pleased with how I did. I knew I was capable of playing at a higher level and attracting interest from higher-level teams.

"When you look at it, from not playing (for spells) at a team who were getting relegated to one who played in League One, it can look as a bit of a jump from the outside looking in. I understand that, but am confident in my own ability and think I have proved that over the past four years."