Hull City v Barnsley: We work harder and harder every day to improve players' self-belief, says Dimas Teixeira

A euphoric weekend saw the Reds secure their first Championship win since New Year’s Day – and just their second in 19 matches in all competitions – with a priceless 2-0 triumph at fellow strugglers Birmingham City, which moved Jose Morais’s side out of the relegation zone.

Victory in East Yorkshire tonight, in what is both sides’ game in hand on their relegation rivals, would see Barnsley move four points clear of third-from-bottom Birmingham.

Dimas says the Reds will be going all out for a win and will not settle for a safety-first approach.

The ex-Portugal international, a former Champions League finalist and two-time Serie A winner with Juventus in the mid to late Nineties, said: “It is obvious that when you are on a bad spell and get a win, it is a relief for the fans and everyone. But it is not enough, it is only the first one.

“It was a great three points and deserved because we were better. But we must have the same attitude and mentality in the next game and go for the three points.

“It is a big game, but every game is until the end of the season. But we believe we will get better and get results

“The players have to take the things we did well and improve and get better. We have to do more. Hull are a good team and we are aware of that, but we have to get a result.

“Obviously, Hull is a team who have come down from the Premier League and are having some difficulties. But they have, without doubt, a solid team and we are well aware of that. We are prepared.”

Despite only being at the club for just a week and a half with head coach Morais, Dimas believes he has seen more than enough to suggest Barnsley have the quality to steer away from trouble and remains confident that the players have the potential to rise up the table if they believe fully in themselves.

Possessing the youngest squad in the Championship, with an average age of just 23, confidence issues have afflicted Barnsley during the course of the season, but the Portuguese has already detected signs of a change in a positive direction.

He said: “I have watched them lots of times and the more I work with them the more I believe that they can do much better than what they have done in the past if they believe, when they go into work every day, that they can be better as it is their career. Then I think they will be successful in life.

“We work harder and harder every day to give them a message to believe in themselves because we believe in everyone.

“Jose has to tell them that it is not a question of us only being here a week (or so); they have to feel as if we have been here for years. They know that we are backing them and are going to go until the end of the world with them. They need to be confident and believe in themselves.

“They have been fantastic. The result is always until the last second (in the Championship) and we are trying to get the message to them that we can certainly get out of this situation with this quality that they have.”

The battle for survival is very much a family affair for Reds midfielder Gary Gardner, who got the bragging rights ahead of older brother and Birmingham schemer Craig in Saturday’s 2-0 win at St Andrew’s.

Gardner says that he left his sibling alone after the weekend win, with his family desperate for both teams stay up.

He said: “He was not very happy, to be fair. We both needed to win. It was just about getting three points as we are both down there fighting to stay up. After the game I left him alone.

“The family want both their kids to stay up and achieve something come the end of the season. It was a proud moment for them to watch both their sons in the same game.”