Why 'friction' with Barnsley FC head coach Darrell Clarke is something that sporting director Mladen Sormaz encourages

As far as his new employers Barnsley are concerned, that is just fine.

The former Cheltenham Town, Port Vale and Bristol Rovers chief will start work on the training ground with the Reds players he has inherited later this month.

Clarke's ambition to use his time at Oakwell to realise his self-declared aim of reaching the Championship - something that eluded him as a player and not just as a manager thus far - was abundantly clear from his press unveiling as head coach at Barnsley, who have also since brought in ex-captain Conor Hourihane as player-coach.

The 46-year-old’s energy and enthusiasm to deliver was something that soon struck the Reds hierarchy when they met with him and marked him out from some other candidates in a positive way.

His straight-talking and 'open and direct' approach was something that endeared him to the club instantaneously in the words of sporting director Mladen Sormaz.

Sormaz commented: "This is a club where they do like head coaches who wear their hearts on their sleeves and are direct in what they say.

"I like the fact that Darrell is straight-taking. I know there’s a perception around clubs sometimes that they want someone who will give them an easy ride.

"I personally think that in football that if you get that little bit of ‘friction’ in terms of where you get different opinions consistently, that’s when the best stuff comes.

"If we both agree - and disagree - on everything, that’s not great.

"But I think Darrell is the sort to tell me (honestly) and I’ll tell him.

"Of the guys we met, I think I got the bigger connection with Darrell.

"We were only due to meet half an hour, 45 minutes, and we spent two hours with him."

Sign up to our new Sports Editor’s TeamTalk newsletter available this week

In the view of Sormaz, the fact that Clarke has not yet pitted his wits in management in the second tier or had the chance to push at the right end of League One is partly to do with circumstance.

Clarke - who counts five promotions on his football CV including four as a manager - is now aiming to utilise advantages that he felt weren’t afforded him in his previous jobs at League One level.

There is a discernible hunger there that you cannot buy.

Sormaz continued: "I personally think that if you look at his career, it’s really, really strong and his win ratio is crazy and he’s done it at three clubs (Bristol Rovers, Port Vale and Walsall) with fanbases that are expectant.

"I actually think that if it wasn’t for those (personal) things which made him take a sabbatical (at Vale in early 2022), he’d have probably been in the Championship or another strong League One club right now.

"I’ve known him on the market for a long time. The reason it’s come (now) is more the timing.

"We know he’s ready for a big club and to settle in.

"He’s someone who the club have been aware of for a really long time, his track record screams out."