Barnsley v Blackpool - Reds aware points haul can secure biggest prize on offer

That season proved fateful for Yorkshire in a campaign which saw Sheffield United reach the 90-point barrier for the season and still miss out on automatic promotion – pipped by arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday no less.

Now Barnsley find themselves pitted in a similarly absorbing battle for the automatic promotion and desperate to avoid the fate of the Blades, who were forced to enter the play-offs.

The second-placed Reds will breach the 90-point mark if they win their final designated home match of 2018-19 at Oakwell on Saturday, with events on Wearside also assuming critical importance.

Top-two rivals Sunderland and Portsmouth square off at the Stadium of Light and the preferred scenario for Barnsley would be a draw, with both in midweek action on Tuesday.

For now, Daniel Stendel’s side are focused on keeping their side of the bargain with registering a full home season without a league defeat assuming secondary importance to the need to secure three cherished points.

Assistant head coach Dale Tonge said: “That is all we can do. If we get three points at the weekend, it does add pressure. How they (Sunderland and Portsmouth) handle that pressure is down to their team.

“They will know that come Tuesday that if we have got our three points, then they will have to win. All we can do is focus on ourselves and keep putting as much pressure on as we can.

“It has been mentioned that it is the highest points total. If we can get to 90-plus points, then we will know we will have had a fantastic season up to that point. But we want to get as many points as we can.”

Pressure may be abound, but the Reds head into the game with spirits buoyed by Easter victories over Plymouth Argyle and Shrewsbury Town, with the Reds in a good place, reinforced by Bank Holiday Monday’s long trip to Home Park – which saw the visitors saunter to a 3-0 win and further fortify levels of belief.

Tonge added: “I would have liked to have come on at 3-0 up at Plymouth. That would not have been bad and I could have had a nice walk-about. I am not as fit as I used to be!

“But it is great to see the boys with smiles on their faces and enjoying their football. In any walk of life, if you enjoy your job, the rest takes care of itself and that is what we are seeing at the minute.”

The feel-good factor has been enhanced by the return to the fray of Kieffer Moore, whose talismanic presence on the pitch and off it has provided a psychological fillip at a critical juncture according to Tonge.

“It has been a big lift for the dressing room, away from the cameras and media,” he said. “Although he (Moore) has been in and around and still annoying people, it has been a big lift - especially for the fans who have been singing his name constantly.

“Psychologically, it has been a massive thing and we have taken that into the games in which he has come on.”