Barnsley FC v Crawley Town: Luca Connell on avoiding new year blues again and history repeating itself in League One

Quite the opposite in fact.

In his first year at the club in 2022-23 under Michael Duff, Connell was part of a Reds side who hit an excellent seam of form in January and February of 2023, when they claimed six wins in 10 league matches, losing just once.

Their numbers in the first couple of months of last year were not to be sniffed at either following another noteworthy haul of six victories in nine games at league level – before the wheels started to come off for Neill Collins.

Fortunately, the Oakwell outfit did manage to hang onto their play-off spot. Just.

Barnsley head into their first Saturday home fixture of the new year in the final top-six position after an important 2-1 success over top-two candidates Wrexham and buoyed by their first signing of the transfer window, while being mindful that will be negated somewhat if they don’t back it up with three points over lowly Crawley.

Free transfer Neil Farrugia joined too late to be involved against the Red Devils, but a fourth successive league win would show Darrell Clarke’s side are making a move again and in a good place.

Connell said: “Over the last couple of years with my experience of being at Barnsley, after December is when the season starts to get going – in January and February.

“It’s when you need to be in the top six and pushing high up. It’s a key time to make sure you get as many points as you can.

“We started in the right way and can hopefully kick on.

“We’ve played everyone now and know we should really be expecting when we go into games.

“It’s just down to us now to make sure the game plans are right, we are working hard and we can hopefully pick up as many points as we can at the back end of the season.”

Barnsley, also targeting a new goalkeeper and another striker in the winter window, face a Crawley side who are winless in their past four matches, losing three along the way. But the West Sussex outfit have had the benefit of some extra preparation time with their scheduled New Year's Day game with Charlton Athletic being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

In their final appointment of 2024, the Red Devils drew 4-4 in a madcap game at Exeter City.

Left wing-back Farrugia has joined from Shamrock Rovers, where his contract expired at the end of the League of Ireland season. The 25-year-old, who has played junior football for the Republic of Ireland, and was included in the senior side’s 2023 summer training camp can also play on the right, and further forward.