Barnsley FC will not change their style for anyone says Valerien Ismael

BARNSLEY head coach Valerien Ismael has pledged that his side will not be changing their footballing philosophy for anyone in the future.
Valerien Ismael.Valerien Ismael.
Valerien Ismael.

The Reds’ relentless high-energy pressing of opponents and direct style is reaping a harvest with six successive Championship wins having propelled them into the play-off mix in scintillating fashion.

Equally, many opposing sides are busy attempting to come up with tactics to negate Barnsley’s tactics, but Ismael insists that his side will not deviate from their own philosophy to potentially combat it.

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Ismael, whose seventh-placed side welcome Birmingham City tomorrow, said: “We will stay true to our ourselves.

“It is a surprise and this is a good thing. When you play against Barnsley, you know exactly what is going on, on the pitch, from the first minute to the last minute.

“We give 100 per cent every time with high intensity and high energy. We are ready to have a big commitment in any game and this is our way.

“With our philosophy, you can take it or leave it. You can love it or you can hate it. But we stay true to ourselves and we have our identity and way to play football.”

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Despite an outstanding and club record run of six successive league wins in the same season, Ismael says his young, driven and hungry players are striving for more and are not satisfied.

He added: “We are delighted about the performances and points that we have got so far. It is a great pleasure to see the guys have understood it was not enough to perform, but get the result with our way to play football.

“The guys have found a way to get results and for us, it is about trying to stay in that way and stay focused and hungry for the next game and win and to keep moving in the table.

“This is our big determination now and with the win against QPR, it puts us in a good situation.

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“It is a great challenge tomorrow and after the game, I said straightaway that it showed exactly what the Championship is. It was hard work and difficult in the first ten minutes when QPR had two big chances to score, but you have to stay focused and know that a lot of teams have quality and key players can make a difference.

All the time, it is hard work to get points and on Saturday, it will be exactly the same against Birmingham.

“Birmingham need points to stay in the division and will fight to the end and it is exactly the same for us.”