Wilson insists players will prove themselves worthy of Reds shirt

Barnsley imploded after Keith Southern’s opener, which put Town on their way to a 5-0 win on a day when the Reds’ relegation rivals Doncaster Rovers were also on the wrong end of a five-goal drubbing at Bournemouth, which their manager Paul Dickov labelled as “unacceptable”.

Tempers were running high among the Reds 1,973 travelling contingent in the final stages of Saturday’s game at Town, with fans aiming a chorus of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” in the direction of visiting players just before the end.

Substitute Stephen Dawson had to be restrained by team-mates Brek Shea and Peter Ramage after appearing to confront one irate supporter after the final whistle.

Wilson has promised to address that particular issue and says that his players must take the criticism on the chin and show their pride in the jersey in the coming weeks.

Specifically on the Dawson incident, Wilson, who presided over the Reds’ heaviest away league defeat since a 6-1 drubbing at Newcastle in March 2010, said: “If that’s the case, we will have a talk about it and get to the bottom of it.

“The fans are passionate and have every right to be. When you get results like this, it’s not very easy to take.

“In the first half an hour they were singing our names. That’s football. The fans wanted us to win; it was a derby game and you can’t argue with them at times.

“You have to understand they have followed the club through thick and thin and you have to respect their opinions at times.

“What we have to do now is respond to it and make sure if that was a chant aimed at me or anyone else that we (show we) are proud to wear the shirt. And I’ll make sure we are.”

The fixture list has not afforded Barnsley any favours this week with the Reds facing tough home fixtures against promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest and leaders Leicester City.

Wilson knows many people will already be writing off his side’s chances, with it up to the Reds to show what they are made of.

On dropping to the foot of the table, he added: “It’s not nice, but the only comfort in one respect is that we are not far away, points-wise. We are still in there fighting.

“With our next two games, I don’t think anybody will hold anything out for us. But sometimes, that’s when upsets are made.

“You are going to have a bad day sometimes and this was a bad day.

“Throughout the team, there’s got to be more resilience. Unfortunately, there were a lot of questions to be asked of individuals on Saturday.”

Wilson’s comments contrasted markedly with those of his Town counterpart Mark Robins, with the former Oakwell chief delighted with his side’s stirring response to two poor performances at home against Sheffield Wednesday and Forest.

It was the third time this term that Town have hit five goals in a home league fixture, with Robins singling out special praise for £1.2m man Nahki Wells, who provided assists for four goals and turned in a sublime personal performance, despite not finding the back of the net.

Robins said: “It was a thoroughly deserved win. I thought we controlled the game apart from the first 10 or 15 minutes.

“It was a really professional performance with lots of quality as well.

“We were very good and I thought Nahki was absolutely magnificent. He was so good and created opportunities for us and was at the heart of everything we did.”

Like Wilson, Doncaster boss Dickov had a day to forget as his side went to pieces in their heaviest defeat of the season, at Bournemouth who were inspired by Yann Kermorgant’s hat-trick.

It leaves Rovers just three points above third-from-bottom Charlton Athletic, who have three matches in hand on them.

The result also extended the Keepmoat Stadium outfit’s winless streak to five matches, with Dickov’s side having taken two points from the last 15.

Angry Dickov, whose side host Huddersfield on Saturday, said: “The performance was unacceptable.

“The players know that and I sat them in the changing room for a period of time. A few home truths were told.

“The group, over the course of the season, have been fantastic to work with. But they know that days like Saturday, I won’t accept as a manager.

“I apologise to the fans who came down.

“They travelled a long way to see a performance that was inept and had no real energy, never mind the quality.”

Match reports: Page 2.