Dougie Freedman's thoughts ahead of the weekend clash against Barnsley
Dougie Freedman was keen to emphasise one word at his Barnsley pre-match press conference – momentum.
Wanderers have made a bright start under the new manager, collecting five points from three matches and ahead of the visit from the Tykes, Freedman was confident the run can be extended.
“Momentum is a key word. You need to keep that going, stay undefeated and pick up points,” said Freedman.
“This division is all about consistency – if you show any then you will bounce up the league table because it is that close.
“We have to try and build on the last games in terms of our performances. I thought we were unlucky not to pick up all three points last week at Blackpool last weekend when we were 2-1 up with ten minutes to go.”
Freedman added: “I think this week has been what the doctor ordered, in terms of coming into a new club. You want to try and spend as much time as possible on the training ground but in the first couple of weeks it was difficult because of the game in midweek.
“This week has been good in terms of our preparation. We know exactly what we can do from day-to-day and we have crammed in as much as we can, physically and tactically.
“There is no quick fix or magic wand you can wave. It takes time for the players to learn new ideas and you have to drip feed them in, ideas about attacking and defending.
“We will get that through in the coming weeks because of how we train and what we ask of the players, but you can already see in certain games that there is a lot of discipline there and the understanding is better.”
Barnsley currently sit in 21st place in the Championship table and make their first trip to the Reebok in 12 years this Saturday on the back of a run of games that has seen them lose to Huddersfield Town, Derby County, Hull City and Nottingham Forest in recent weeks.
Wanderers have faced promotion-chasers Cardiff City, Leicester City and Blackpool in their last three outings, but Freedman was quick to brush off any suggestion that the South Yorkshire club would present a lesser challenge.
He said: “We are a professional outfit and I’m a very professional manager. I approach every game with the exact same detail and preparation.
“Barnsley are missing two or three key players at the moment. They got off to a great start but have settled down in the last month or so.
“Certain teams have worked out their style and what they are about, and have tried to combat that with other ideas, hence their last few results.
“We will aim to work on that and hopefully we will have the right mentality to go out and win this game.”