Flitcroft can now sleep easy as influence of Martinez sees Barnsley boost survival hopes

And with good reason, with his energised Barnsley side having reinvigorated their flagging campaign by virtue of a five-match unbeaten sequence, with the Lancastrian a serious contender to pick up the January manager-of-the-month accolade.

Deprived of sleep he may have been but that has not stopped him bedding in some fresh ideas, with the new 3-5-2 system which Flitcroft arrived at after countless hours of deep thought in the small hours already looking a winner.

His decision to play at a higher tempo at home and forsake the previous patient footballing approach under his predecessor Keith Hill is also reaping dividends if the high-octane performances against Millwall and Leeds are anything to go by.

Flitcroft, whose side produced a top-class display to sink the Lions 2-0 on Tuesday – to move to within four points of safety – said: “Looking at the 18 months here before Keith left, you think about it and reflect and I did a lot of that.

“I did not sleep a lot in the first two weeks (after being appointed caretaker chief). I was getting three hours a night because I just could not stop thinking ‘What has gone wrong?’, ‘Why has it gone wrong?’

“Out of that reflection, I started seeing what we might have got wrong. The flavour and tempo of the performance probably wasn’t right for the Barnsley crowd here. I think we have picked that up and energised the crowd.

“It’s a two-way thing and I think the crowd are energising the players, who really want to be out there. I want to get excitement at Oakwell.”

He added: “The players are fighting for the fans. They covered every blade of grass and used every sinew of their body against Millwall and ran all over and passed and fought them and came out on top. It was an incredible team performance.”

Central to Flitcroft’s decision-making in plumping for a wing-back system has been the adaptability of much-coveted teenage defender John Stones, who produced a highly-accomplished showing in Tuesday’s triumph as a right-sided wing-back to add to his burgeoning reputation.

All Barnsley fans are keeping their fingers crossed that he remains a Reds player by the time the transfer window closes tonight, with a host of Premier League clubs, including Everton, Sunderland, Wigan and Fulham, linked with moves this month.

Revealing that his switch to wing-backs was first instigated by a chat with good friend and Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, Flitcroft said: “I watch Wigan a lot and speak to Roberto. He went with a four (at the back) and then he got (Jean) Beausejour in and that gave him his wing-backs. I knew Goldy (Scott Golbourne) could play at wing-back, although I did not know if John could.

“He will eventually play in the Premiership as a centre-half, no doubt about that. The kid is a monster and you can see his body developing all the time.”