Conor Hourihane has urged Barnsley to take belief from Saturday's gutsy 3-2 victory over Leyton Orient as they look to prove their play-off credentials over the festive period.

The Reds are up to eighth in League One after coming from behind to beat their midtable rivals in a chaotic game at Oakwell.

Barnsley, who are now four points adrift of sixth-placed Stockport County with two games in hand, have been challenged to kick on at a crucial stage of the season.

"The lads showed character to bounce back in difficult circumstances," said Hourihane, whose side lost their previous game at Lincoln City.

"There's character in abundance in the dressing room. I believe in them and they need to believe it.

"We've got to take the next step now during the Christmas period. We need to believe that we can do it.

"It's so important to win in front of your fans. It's brilliant to win in front of our fans away but home games are our bread and butter."

The hugely impressive Reyes Cleary gave Barnsley an early lead before Dom Ballard and Ollie O'Neill took advantage of errors to turn the match on its head.

Conor Hourihane's side got out of jail on Saturday afternoon. (Photo: George Wood/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Conor Hourihane's side got out of jail on Saturday afternoon. (Photo: George Wood/Getty Images)

Cleary turned provider in the closing stages to rescue the Reds, laying on the equaliser for Jon Russell and creating Davis Keillor-Dunn's winner.

"I thought we were brilliant in the first half-hour and should have been a couple of goals up with the chances we had," added Hourihane.

"Then we gave away two really poor goals and never quite got to grips with coming back into it before half-time. We had a breather from the carnage at half-time.

"I really felt like the game was there for us in the second half and that they only got back into it through our mistakes. I'm really proud of how they took that on and really showed courage to come back into the game."