Reds chief shows respect to relegation battlers

The Tykes are safe from relegation but Bristol still need a victory to secure survival and condemn both Portsmouth and Coventry City to the drop.

Hill will only field his youngsters in the final game of the season when Brighton and Hove Albion, who have now missed out on the play-offs, visit Oakwell.

“I want to be respectful to Coventry, Portsmouth and Bristol City,” he said. “We have to make sure we do the right thing for the professionalism of the game.

“It’s difficult because it’s ‘job done’ as far as we are concerned, but you have to put yourself in the situation of other managers and make sure you make the game competitive. This weekend’s fixture means a lot to a lot of other football clubs.”

The Tykes’ survival has been celebrated by Hill, although he admits that he has been disappointed by performances in the second half of the season.

“When other clubs found themselves in serious trouble, they found money – money that we have not got – but we stuck to our task,” he said. “The board and the owner Patrick Cryne have been really brave to make sure our plan this season worked.

“At times, it was very, very nervous. Our form at the turn of the year was relegation (form) but we have retained our status at no real financial cost to the supporters of the football club.

“We will have to recruit four or five Championship-quality players this summer,” he stressed.

“And I want to make sure they have experience of this league. Players like Scott Golbourne – who I believe will be an unbelievable player at this standard – needs to be reassured that they have leaders and knowledge of the Championship in the team with him.

“When you are not playing well, you need leaders, players who can turn a sequence of form around.

“We have got a lot of honesty and integrity in our squad but we need that quality that we have been missing since the turn of the year,” he added.

“We have to become a team where we are developing players as saleable assets, selling them for the right money at the right time, but retaining our competitive edge. That is the way forward for this football club.”

Midfielder Jacob Butterfield, as reported yesterday, is a transfer target for clubs including Newcastle United and Reading.

Although out of contract this summer, Barnsley will still be entitled to compensation because the Bradford-born player is under the age of 24.