Blackburn Rovers v Barnsley: Poya Asbaghi on what Reds need to do to counter home threat

A leader is a dealer in hope and head coach Poya Asbaghi, regardless of his side’s pretty grim situation, is doing his best to maintain spirits, even amid some obvious difficulties ahead of a new year which carries the potential for some leading players to depart next month.

If there is a spot of hope, it perhaps ironically arrives from the side keeping Barnsley off the foot of the table in Derby County.

Wayne Rooney’s rock-bottom Rams have drawn strength from considerable off-the-field adversity to register fine recent wins over West Brom and Bournemouth and take a point against Fulham.

It is a reminder of the fact that it is never over until it is over.

Should Barnsley – the Championship’s lowest scorers – triumph at Ewood Park, it would be an equally head-turning result. A win at an improving Nottingham Forest side to start 2022 would also be striking.

On facing a Blackburn side who have won eight of their last 10 league matches and are the division’s top-scorers on home soil with 28 goals in 12 matches, Asbaghi said: “You have to respect they have good form and are really dangerous in the counter-attacks and stopping their counter-attacks is an important weapon for us.

“I know if we can stop them doing what they do well, that is one part. The second part is us doing the things offensively that we know we can. We need to be better at counter-attacks, solving the opponents’ pressing and creating chances from that and scoring more set-piece goals.

“We have a lot of jobs to do. We need to make big improvements. If we can take the defensive organisation of the last game and add more offensive quality, then we will surprise Blackburn.

“We need to focus on what we need to improve. If we do that well, I am pretty sure we can unbalance a team who have the highest form in the league.”

As it stands, Barnsley’s current predicament looks even more parlous than it did during their ‘Great Escape’ campaign season of 2019-20 when their fates went right down to the last seconds of the campaign before a staggering denouement at Brentford.

To perform something akin to a repeat trick, they will need further heroics and a fair bit of resolve and fight, allied to luck.

Defender Liam Kitching, whose younger brother Guy is a talented amateur boxer and ex-Yorkshire champion, should not be found wanting in that regard at least with the former Leeds United player having incorporated boxing sessions into his own training regime previously.

He and his team-mates are aware of their plight, but while they are down, they are not out.

Improved defensive performances during Asbaghi’s time in charge has been one tick in the box, even if the precious currency of a first win under the 36-year-old has yet to transpire.

Kitching added: “Once we get that one win and come over that one hurdle, I feel we can really kick on and go on a run and other teams then may start panicking.

“You have got to take it and thrive off it really and prove people wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but it is only us in the dressing room who can turn it around.

“We are not doing well and we know it ourselves, but we are trying everything we can to turn it around. It is the second half of the season now and I am sure we can be a different team.”

Last six games: Blackburn DWWWWW; Barnsley LLDDLD.

Referee: D Whitestone (Northants).

Last time: Blackburn 2 Barnsley 1, November 28, 2020; Championship.