Barnsley’s Callum Brittain seeks resilience to pull Reds clear of trouble

Clearly hurting at Barnsley’s demise, the wing-back admits to some home truths being delivered among the club’s players and is not the sort to sugar-coat their current position.

At the start of October, Brittain candidly spoke about Barnsley being too disconnected and static and implored the club’s coaching staff to change their approach.

Barnsley start life under a new head coach tonight in Poya Asbaghi and Brittain believes the players’ first job is to become much more resilient again.

He said: “It is a hard environment to be in when things aren’t going your way. We are all close lads and can all say things to each other and not take it to heart. We have had a few words with each other.

“But with the new gaffer, it’s a different environment now and like a fresh start.

“I am not that old, but have played a lot of games. The likes of Cauley (Woodrow) and, Carlton (Morris) are doing their bit to get the younger players’ confidence up. But it is more of a group thing and everyone is really close and digging each other out when we have to.

“We’re right in that relegation zone and to climb out of it is the main objective. It is a new start under Poya and hopefully start climbing the table.

“We need to get that resilience back into our game. If we can go 1-0 up and really fight for those points, it brings us closer.”

On his first impressions of Asbaghi, Brittain – who says the Reds ‘owe’ play-off conquerors Swansea one after events last term – added: “He’s come in with a job to do, knows exactly what he needs to do and wants to do and told us how to do it and about his style. As a club, fans, staff and players know where we are and need to come together to get ourselves out of it.”