[BFC SITE] Darrell Clarke | Pre-Northampton Town Press Conference

Darrell Clarke hopes that his Barnsley team will be able to “get fans off their seats” on Saturday with a good performance against Northampton Town at Oakwell.

Speaking to the press, Clarke reflected on last Tuesday’s Bristol Street Motors Trophy opener against Manchester United U21, stating that he was generally pleased with the performance put out by a young Reds side.

“In the first half, we pressed well and scored a couple of goals. The second half wasn’t what we wanted, but there were some great performances from our young players, and it was a big learning curve for them.”

The gaffer singled out for praise was young Welsh midfielder, Vimal Yoganathan, who scored his first two senior goals at Oakwell in last Tuesday’s defeat. “Vimal performed really well, after having a decent 45 generally against Wigan last week. Playing up front isn’t a position he’s used to, but scoring is something we want to add to his game, and he and Kyran (Lofthouse) worked really well as a forward pairing.”

Oliver Wilkinson made history against Manchester United U21 when he became the club’s first regular starter, and Clarke said that the 15-year-old’s efforts in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy opener did not go unnoticed.

“Oli didn’t look out of place, and that’s a testament to the work that’s going on within our academy. He’s had his debut now, we just need to keep moving forward and progressing him as a player within our overall setup. Fans are good believers in wanting homegrown players to come through, and it’s about giving them opportunities to deliver.”

Josh Benson also returned to the Barnsley setup on Tuesday night, playing his first competitive minutes since last November, and the Reds’ Head Coach said that he was pleased with his efforts. “Josh had only had a day’s training before coming in, those were important minutes for him and it was good to get him through the 45. He is a very good player, and the last few years have been really mentally challenging for him in terms of fitness. Hopefully, we can keep working with him, and he can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s game at Oakwell against Northampton, Clarke was pleased with the response he’s received from senior players in the week after the Reds got their first league win of the season over Lincoln last Saturday.

“It might not have necessarily been the performance I was after, but you have to put things into context. We were up against a side who had a tremendous run at the end of last season, we defended superbly well against a lot of diagonal balls and runners, especially in the closing minutes. I drive the highest standards to my team, and we have to be hitting those, but the response has been fantastic throughout the week, and hopefully, we can deliver three points on Saturday.”

Reflecting on the away win at the LNER Stadium last week, the Barnsley Head Coach stated it was pleasing for Sam Cosgrove to score his first goal of the season in the fixture. “We’re aiming for Sam to be a central figure this season. Players will always get opportunities from me to show that, and Sam scored with a great finish. We need to keep him at the top of his game, and hopefully, that first goal gives him the confidence to kick off."

Clarke told the press that he was hoping to get his first home win under his belt on Saturday against Northampton, but that he was under no illusions about the task at hand.

“It is going to be a tough game. Jon Brady for me was one of the managers of last season in League One, and he’s done a fantastic job there. But we have to focus on ourselves, what we do, and how we win the game. We want to get on the front foot, please fans with a good performance, get them off their seats, and try to get three points.”

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