Barnsley FC v Mansfield Town: Contrasting emotions for Darrell Clarke and Luca Connell ahead of sentimental opener to League One season

It was somewhat different this time last year for Barnsley head coach Darrell Clarke and the club’s newly-appointed permanent first-team captain in Luca Connell.

Clarke was taking time out from management following a previous spell of compassionate leave, while Connell was laid up on his sofa last August due to a mystery illness which was subsequently diagnosed as post-viral fatigue.

Refreshed and recharged, the pair will be front and centre as the Reds kick off the Clarke era - and the League One season - with an appetising opener at home to the Barnsley manager’s hometown club Mansfield Town, who will be backed by around 3,500-plus fans tonight.

Rewinding his thoughts to this time last season, Clarke said: “I was probably on a holiday and a much-earned break. When I left Port Vale, I needed a break - that six months out of the game to clear my head.

"There were a lot of holidays, but no doubt I was getting very close to missing it as well.

"Mansfield is a club and town with an emotional attachment. My dream was to play for my hometown team when I was a young lad. I was there from 10 and left at 23. I had 13 years there and my grandad was a steward and there’s a lot of connections. I was born in the town.

"Listen, that all goes aside. They know how I work and I played them in the play-off final not so long ago with Port Vale. They will know I want to win the game, but am also very respectful of the team, manager and fans.”

The fixture also sees Clarke renew acquaintances with one of his good friends in the game in Stags counterpart Nigel Clough, whom he famously got the better of in that aforesaid play-off final in May 2022.

Sentiment, as is often the case in the world of football, is not hard to find on the opening weekend and there is always a story or two somewhere.

Clarke commented: “It’s weird how fate brings these things together. Nigel is a top guy and I did my Pro Licence with Nigel a few years ago and we have always kept in touch. I have got massive respect for Nigel, he’s a top human being and top manager.

"They are a team on the crest of a wave and they are excited and the town is buzzing because they got promotion. I know it’s boring, but we do have to focus on ourselves."

Another subplot to the game has seen Barnsley linked with a move for Mansfield striker Davis Keillor-Dunn, with the forward one of the undoubted stars in the Nottinghamshire club’s promotion to the third tier.

Clarke has refused to be comment on reports suggesting that the 26-year-old could potentially move to Oakwell.

But it is no secret that Barnsley are intent upon hardening their promotion credentials with a couple of additions at the top end of the pitch before the end of the window, while the club are understood to be close to bringing in a new goalkeeping option ahead of Friday’s opener.

On adding to his forward roster, Clarke commented: “Sometimes, signings become a bit of a poker game as teams don’t want to lose their top strikers, it’s as simple as that.

"There’s all sorts of things going off in the background and I understand it. I’ve lost top strikers, (Elijah) Abebayo to Luton, Matty Taylor at Bristol (Rovers). You lose top strikers and you are trying to keep hold of them as a manager. It’s as simple as that.

"We are aligned (at Barnsley), the problem is when you are not aligned as a club and changing room. I can categorically say that is not the case (here).

"The alignment at the club is very good. I don’t want to get mixed messages out there that it’s not. We are all on the same page and know what we are trying to do.”

Callum Styles is in contention this evening, but the game comes too soon for Donovan Pines, with Josh Benson also sidelined. The Reds are awaiting the prognosis regarding promising young striker Fabio Jalo, who is to see a specialist after falling awkwardly on his shoulder last week.

Despite Benson’s absence, Barnsley have a comparative embarrassment of riches in midfield, as it stands, with their options being the envy of virtually every rival in the division.

For the player who will lead them onto the pitch in Connell, this evening will be a proud moment, given his vicissitudes last summer.

The Liverpudlian, named in the PFA League One Team of the Year in his first campaign at the club in 2022-23, continued: “I have got the gaffer and all the staff to thank in putting the trust in me. Hopefully I can repay them with performances on the pitch.

"Last year, I was sat on the couch. All I wanted was to be healthy and just to be able to run without getting headaches, pains or feeling sick.

"I am (now) feeling good and well, that’s the main thing."