Barnsley v Leeds United: O'Connor begins journey of reinvention at Oakwell

The Scottish international striker joined the Tykes on a one-month loan deal from Birmingham City last weekend but was not involved in the defeat at Norwich City.

O'Connor, a burly six-footer, so nearly allowed fame and fortune to derail his career, but returned to the Scotland fold after a two-year spell in the international wilderness.

He is on a journey of reinvention and views his move to Barnsley as the final stepping stone back to the Premier League spotlight.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is still keen to exploit the gifts of his club's 2.7m investment but the 27-year-old needs games after a lengthy spell on the sidelines last season following hip surgery.

"I am still a massive part of the gaffer's plans at Birmingham," insisted O'Connor, whose neck now bears the scar of major tattoo removal surgery. "But I need a run of games under my belt.

"People will say I have dropped down a level but I want to work hard and do well for this club. It is a 28-day loan and there are six games. If I do well, a three-month loan will suit me even more, or maybe our gaffer will pull me back."

O'Connor had a private jet at his disposal during an 18-month spell at Lokomotiv Moscow and lavished thousands on expensive cars but it is the present rather than the past that is his main concern.

"It is a case of forgetting about Birmingham for now and focusing on Barnsley," he said. "The gaffer wasn't pushing me out, it was me who wanted to push it. If I had stayed at Birmingham, I would have to fight for my place and the gaffer is playing with one up front just now.

"A lot of players are like that (happy to be paid without playing) but for me its the love of the game. I want to play and score goals. I am guaranteed games here and that's why I came."

O'Connor's arrival gives Barnsley's attack an exciting new dimension although Robins has a variety of other options at his disposal and is still chasing another striker.

Former Leeds strikers Andy Gray and Liam Dickinson will compete for a place with O'Connor tonight alongside Canadian Iain Hume, Serbian Goran Lovre, and Argentinian Jeronimo Morales.

Around 20,000 supporters are set to pack into Oakwell including a travelling army of 7,000 from Leeds.

Robins hopes that his players will relish the atmosphere and rubbishes the notion of living in the shadows of their local rivals.

"Leeds United have got a long tradition of success in comparison to ourselves," said Robins. "People will look at it, draw conclusions and make predictions based on that, but we are going to go out there and try upset a few.

"We know it's going to be a tough ask but we are at home. We have two great home games (they face Derby County at Oakwell on Saturday) and we are looking forward to pitting our wits against two of the bigger clubs in the division."

Leeds manager Simon Grayson says his players need only look to the away end tonight if they require any added motivation.

A sold-out allocation of 6,732 tickets represents Leeds' biggest away following for a league game in over five years and will be the biggest away following at any Championship game in the country so far this season.

"It's an unbelievable following when you think about it," said Grayson. "We sell out everywhere we go, but to take nearly 7,000 to an away game is something else. When you go away, it should be the home crowd who create the atmosphere, but in our games, it's usually our fans that do that."

Only three points separate the two clubs in the Championship table and this will be the first meeting since 2006.

Such has been the pace of change during the last four years that Barnsley winger Martin Devaney is the only survivor in the two camps from the last meeting at Oakwell.

Grayson has stated that neither Amdy Faye nor Ramon Nunez will make their debuts tonight as both are short on match fitness.

Senegal international midfielder Faye was released by Stoke City this summer and secured a short-term deal at Leeds last week after impressing on trial.

Honduran international midfielder Nunez joined the club on transfer deadline day.

Leeds will again be without goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who is nursing a foot injury, so Shane Higgs keeps his place after an impressive display in the weekend win over Swansea City.

Barnsley captain Jason Shackell, meanwhile, was excused training yesterday morning after his wife gave birth on Sunday but is unlikely to miss the game.