Barnsley FC signing and Preston legend Daniel Johnson on leadership and ignoring 'outside noise'
DURING a pretty exemplary EFL career spanning over a dozen years, Daniel Johnson has always preferred to do his talking on the pitch rather than off it.
Both in terms of deeds and words.
In his media duties, the recent Barnsley signing, who turned 34 last month, speaks with calmness, maturity, authority and good sense.
That comes with spending eight-and-a-half seasons at a club where he became an icon in Preston North End.
In his early years at Deepdale, the attacking midfielder showed his penchant for scoring thrilling goals - as his current club can testify. While at Preston, Johnson struck six times in eight matches against the Reds.
Later seasons saw him convert into a slightly deeper role. With that came increased team responsibility befitting his senior player status. His voice could be increasingly heard on the pitch, conducting play and marshalling his North End team-mates.
Barnsley can certainly use some of that. Aside from Cam McGeehan and Luca Connell, there is not much seniority around and the Reds will need every bit of experience they can muster if they are to pull away from danger in League One.
Johnson is now ready to go after getting his fitness up to speed since heading to Oakwell last month.
He made his debut from the bench in the final quarter of last weekend’s draw with Oxford United. It was his first competitive appearance since March when he was plying his trade for Istanbul-based Fatih Karagümrük in Turkey’s second tier.
Asked about the importance of leadership, Johnson told The Yorkshire Post: "Do you know what.. It depends on the individual, the circumstances and the situation. I'm more of a speaker on the pitch than off the pitch, really.
"You kind of understand what the situation needs at that moment.
"I've had it with many players over my career. You need someone that maybe can talk to you away from the group so you can express certain things. Or you speak in a room and everyone's there and everyone's listening. Everyone can have their say.”
Barnsley’s league position - they find themselves in the bottom four with just two wins from their opening 13 League One games - is a drama, but not yet a major crisis, just a third of the way through 2026-27.
A confidence boost over the next week would be timely. They play two cup fixtures - starting with Saturday’s FA Cup first-round tie with Aldershot - before a key league appointment at fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic and a home derby with Sheffield Wednesday.
Johnson never experienced a full-blown relegation fight in his time at Preston or his two years at Stoke City.
He did sample some tough times, though. Preston were hovering just above the relegation positions in 2020-21 when they sacked Frankie McAvoy just before Christmas 2020, while Stoke were in the drop zone with a third of the season to go in 2023-24 before pulling away from trouble.
Johnson continued: "Only we can get ourselves out of this situation because only we put ourselves in it.
"Not every season that you play is going to be pretty straightforward. There are going to be times where you have little dips during the season.
"And it's just about sticking together, really and truly. Forget about the outside noise. Because at the end of the day, it's us boys in that dressing room that's going to turn it around, regardless of what the situation may be or what it looks like elsewhere.
"Like the performance the other day, you can see everyone was digging in for each other and we were fighting together. And we had a man sent off very, very early on in the game as well."
His time at Preston saw him earn the respect of Alex Neil, a widely admired EFL manager with previous Barnsley connections.
The pair forged a strong relationship together, with Johnson afforded a new lease of life under the Scot - taking to his pressing style instantly.
It augurs well for life under Stendel, who is a hands-on, demanding manager like Neil.
If Barnsley are to turn things around, you sense Johnson will play a significant role.
On life under Neil, who signed him for Stoke after he elected to leave Preston, Johnson continued: "I've a really good relationship with Alex.
"I've only got positive things to say about him. He helped me a lot. He was able to push my career and my playing style onto another level.
"He's a really, really good guy and really good manager."
Stendel reports no fresh injury issues for the Reds ahead of this weekend, although Ben Hamed Toure is absent due to a family bereavement.
The Barnsley boss confirmed: "He is not in Barnsley for private reasons and he cannot play on Saturday. At the moment, the human is more important than the player.”
Connor O'Riordan (shoulder) has an appointment with a specialist on Monday. Jack Shepherd (suspended) is also missing.