Work to be done before Flitcroft agrees new deal

Flitcroft, contracted with the club until the end of this season, will hold talks with the Oakwell board this week after orchestrating a remarkable survival act, culminating in a never-to-be-forgotten ‘Survival Saturday’ draw at Huddersfield Town, when both White Rose neighbours secured their Championship status.

A day of twists and turns at the bottom saw both Town and Barnsley drop into the relegation zone on two separate occasions each before the final act at Crystal Palace, where Mile Jedinak’s 89th-minute winner secured a 3-2 victory over Peterborough, which relegated the East Anglians and ensured an eighth successive season of Championship football for the Reds.

Rowing said: “It is our intention to offer David the (long-term) position and David has intimated he would like to take the job.

“We have just got to dot the I’s and cross the T’s now.”

Flitcroft, while expressing his desire to stay at the club long-term, said that plenty of negotiations must take place before he commits.

He added: “We are so behind the eight-ball in our preparations and planning as we have been really focusing on the job in hand. There is a lot of work to do and negotiations to make sure we have the right structure. I don’t want to be scratching (around) like this team has done for the last five or six years.

“I want a bright future for Barnsley Football Club.”

Both Barnsley and Huddersfield supporters were basking in the glow of achieving their Championship safety at the end of a remarkable game at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday, with rival fans enjoying a ‘love-in’ as they hailed their survival in the second-tier amid chants of ‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire’ after the 2-2 draw.

Town chairman Dean Hoyle admitted: “We have been 12 or 13 years out of this division and it is relentless.

“It is a very talented, physical division and we have got to make sure we get things in place to go forward and learn the mistakes of this year. Behind the scenes we have made some.”

Town manager Mark Robins added: “I am delighted we are still a Championship club as it would have been an absolute disaster (to go down).”

Sheffield Wednesday also secured Championship safety after a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough.

Manager Dave Jones said: “We have had a promotion and now stabilised in this league, so the plan we (he and chairman Milan Mandaric) set out has, I would not say gone smoothly, but is underway. You don’t employ me if you want to stagnate. I just want to keep pushing.”