Burnley v Barnsley: Problems met with solutions by wiser Flitcroft

Prior to the Reds’ FA Cup third-round win over the Clarets at Oakwell on January 5, Flitcroft had been a player and an assistant, but never the main man.

His only experience of picking a team had come four days earlier in his first game in temporary charge of the club, and resulted in a 2-1 loss at Peterborough.

Flitcroft was living day to day, not knowing whether he would be made redundant as the Oakwell board publicly chased Sean O’Driscoll, Terry Butcher and other more high-profile names.

But in steering his side to a 1-0 win over Burnley, Flitcroft not only breathed life into the Reds’ season, but transformed his own future.

Eight days later he was handed the job until the end of the season, a campaign that for so long looked like it would end in relegation.

Such a prospect remains a real possibility, despite a run of seven wins in 13 since that last Burnley encounter, which has given Barnsley hope and also taken them to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and a glamour tie with Manchester City this Saturday.

“We’ve come a long way together,” said Flitcroft, when asked about his journey over the last two months.

“The group has been strong, they’ve had new experiences, they’ve enjoyed winning. This is a group of people that want to improve, and you want to go to work and see that.

“That’s what I’ve been able to see, people who want to give everything. When you get that back it’s quite rewarding.

“Initially I didn’t know how I would be received by the fans, that was something I was concerned about, and how I would be received by the players.

“But the group want leading, they want direction, they want motivating and I enjoy all that.”

Convincing Micky Mellon and Martin Scott to join him was a wise move with their experience providing Flitcroft with a safety net.

But he has also taken valuable lessons from the men he has served under before, most notably the ability to take each result in moderation.

He said: “I’ve played for managers before who, if they lost, were like bears with sore heads and it used to drive me insane because I was thinking ‘you’ve got to inspire a group now and you can’t even get out of bed without being hungover in frustration’.

“So I’ve learnt great lessons from some of the managers I’ve played for. I never get downbeat, I just look for answers.

“In football you’ve got problems coming at you left, right and centre and it’s about finding solutions and I’m a good solution finder.

“You’ve got to be at this club. You’ve got to find solutions quickly, move on and make things right again.”

One such conundrum is how Barnsley rediscover their momentum after a run of seven wins in eight was halted by two straight defeats. Being forced to switch personnel in a 3-5-2 formation has not helped with John Stones sold to Everton and fellow wing-back Scott Golbourne out for the season with a knee injury.

“Change has been through necessity,” said Flitcroft, whose search for a replacement is currently focused on a left wing-back, ideally from the Premier League.

“And we’re not going to get that back. These people that are waiting for the system to click back into place again will be waiting a long time.

“If the system was perfect it was because we had the perfect players. It’s going to be more difficult now because we don’t have those perfect players.”

Rory Delap trained with the squad yesterday and is available for tonight’s trip to Turf Moor. Jim McNulty is out.

Last six games: Burnley DLDLLW, Barnsley WWWWLL.

Last time: Burnley 2 Barnsley 0; February 14, 2012; Championship.

Referee: P Gibbs (West Midlands).