AN eight-game schedule in April sees Barnsley hit the road six times - and Conor Hourihane is just fine about that.

Over the course of 2025-26, the Reds may have had issues on their travels, but results have picked up lately.

Saturday's derby win at Rotherham United extended their run without an away defeat to four matches. Next up are Port Vale, who could be relegated with a combination of defeat and other results going against them over the next few days.

Hourihane said: "I actually think at the minute we're performing a little bit better away from home. If you look back to our performances in terms of Mansfield, we should have won and we were decent on the day. At Burton, we weren't great but it was a difficult game and they made it difficult for us but we nicked a draw. We've beaten Leyton Orient and Rotherham.

Luca Connel could return for Barnsley at Port Vale on Tuesday night. (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

placeholder image — Luca Connel could return for Barnsley at Port Vale on Tuesday night. (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

"I actually think it's swapped a little bit in terms of the feel of games where our last couple of home games have been average performances. You look at Wigan, we were average. Against Doncaster and Plymouth, we weren't great.

"I feel like we're in a really good place away from home and we're going to perform and that's good because we've got more away games than home games coming up."

Luca Connell should return to the squad - his partner gave birth on Friday - while David McGoldrick (hamstring) is 'touch and go'."

Barnsley's young players assumed responsibility in the absence of the duo at the AESSEAL New York Stadium and it was a particularly heartening facet of an afternoon which saw Hourihane's side effectively rubber-stamp their League One safety with their fifth successive win in Rotherham.

Barnsley's Adam Phillips opens the scoring in the win at Rotherham United on Saturday (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

The Reds chief, whose mid-table side are seven points above fourth-from-bottom Exeter City with three games in hand, continued: "We've left some points behind us and I know every club can say that, but I feel like we really have left some points behind us this season.

"Look, it's a learning group, it's a bit of a mixed group. The young players now are starting to become men a little bit more.

"It's a big thing for us. There's always a kind of noise around when Blandy (Jono Bland) doesn't play well or Vimal (Yoganathan) doesn't play well or Reyes (Cleary) and all these guys, but it's the future of the club.

"So whether they play good, bad or indifferent, they (fans) need to understand that this is the future of the club you're looking at. Patrick Kelly as well.

"It's great to see when it comes off and when it doesn't come off, we still need to back them and stick with them as well."