Barnsley v Chelsea - ‘Fearless’ Tykes will need ‘perfect’ performance, says Valerien Ismael

In daily training sessions, he is demanding and obsessive about the importance of the finer details and the need for intensity from his players. Some have found that out to their cost and been loaned out elsewhere.

The Reds head coach is realistic enough to accept his side require a perfect 90 minutes or beyond tonight to recreate the shock that the club produced against Chelsea on their last visit in a famous FA Cup quarter-final tie in March, 2008.

To do it again would appear unlikely, but it is not impossible on a winter’s evening where there is potential for a surprise – if the likelihood is lessened by the absence of a parochial full house in this intriguing fifth-round 
tie.

Ismael commented: “We need a perfect game and day and in every aspect of the game, we have to be perfect.

“We will try to stay focused and not put more emotion around the game. It is a great feeling and a special moment for everyone, but it is still a game and we will try to win.

“We want to be involved in the game and keep it alive. It is a big experience and the players must control their emotions and focus on the (Chelsea) players and not the name.

“It is all about staying in the game and keeping it alive. We respect our opponent, but we are fearless.”

Ismael has previously pitted his wits against opposite number Thomas Tuchel during their time in the Bundesliga.

It proved a victorious occasion for the former Borussia Dortmund head coach, whose side triumphed 3-0 against Ismael’s Wolfsburg outfit in a league game in February, 2017.

For Ismael, it was his penultimate match in charge of the Lower Saxony club before being sacked.

He is on rock-solid ground whatever transpires this evening against a world-renowned coach who he respects greatly.

Speaking ahead of Tuchel’s introduction to the FA Cup, he added: “We played when I managed at Wolfsburg and Tuchel was at Dortmund. He is a great manager.

“Everywhere where he trains, the team have had big success. He had a big success at Dortmund and they played brilliant football.

“At Paris Saint-Germain for sure, I am a Frenchman and saw what he did there and now this is the next step for him.

“It is a good move for Chelsea as he is a great trainer and Chelsea will get better and better. It is a good transfer. Chelsea will have a lot of joy with him.”

Tuchel’s predecessor Frank Lampard had joy at Barnsley’s expense in the autumn with they inflicted a 6-0 thrashing upon the Reds in a one-sided Carabao Cup tie at Stamford Bridge.

The faces in both dug-outs have changed since – with Gerhard Struber leaving less than a fortnight after – but his successor is confident enough to predict that Barnsley will be a different proposition tonight.

Ismael said: “It will be a different Barnsley, but the first 30 minutes was the intensity you need against Chelsea. You have to keep up the good work for 90-plus minutes and this is where we have to improve our guys.

“Now we have more possibilities from the bench to do something and to stay in our way and make it more unpleasant for Chelsea.”

For the record, aside from in 2008, Chelsea’s only other FA Cup trip to Oakwell was also a painful one for the Londoners.

They lost 4-0 in a round-three tie in January, 1989, with Steve Agnew (2), Gwyn Thomas and David Currie netting for the Reds.

Last six games: Barnsley WLLWDD; Chelsea LWDWWW.

Referee: M Atkinson (West Yorkshire).

Last time: Barnsley 1 Chelsea 0, March 8, 2008; FA Cup.

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