Paul Heckingbottom is hoping to end a 'non-stop whirlwind of a year' with a victory over Birmingham City which could halve the gap between his Barnsley side and the Championship play-off places.
The Reds have won 28 league and play-off matches in 2016, beating their previous club record by three, and are ninth in the Championship after winning both promotion and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy since Heckingbottom stepped into his first managerial role in February.
"It's all about the wins and we would be delighted to finish the year off with a win," the Reds boss told the Chronicle.
"That's the mindset we have: win, win, win. We focus on performances as well but you have to have a winning mentality and the ability to get across the line. We're delighted to have ten wins so far this season and, if it is a close game against Birmingham, we will be pushing and not settling for the draw."
The Reds boss was pleased with an attendance of 14,192 for the 2-0 victory over Blackburn on Boxing Day and is hoping for another big turnout tomorrow against Birmingham. He said: "We had a really good crowd on Boxing Day. As soon as I sat down next to Sedgy (physiotherapist Craig Sedgwick) I said: 'there's a few in today.'
"I don't think it was a classic match, because of the wind, but the fans saw lots of action and a positive result so hopefully they went home happy. Hopefully there will be another big crowd for the next match and we'll send them home happy again."
Heckingbottom has won 24 out of 46 games since taking over from Lee Johnson, after starting 2016 as Barnsley's under 21s coach. He said: "This year has been a non-stop whirlwind for me but I have really enjoyed it. I remind the players about how far they have come every now and again because I think that's important.
"But, for me personally, I don't really look back at what I've achieved. I'm just thinking about winning the next game all the time. I enjoy doing what I do, and I hope the players enjoy it as well."
The Reds boss is delighted that his side have picked up 12 points in December after a difficult run of one win in 11 had seen them sink to 18th, just four points above the relegation zone. He said: "It's a great run. We always speak about wins but it's also about performances and, when we were on that opposite kind of run and not getting wins, I thought we were still performing the same way.
"It's about fine margins in this league and we know how difficult it is. That's why we will keep just trying to do our best and when we win we won't get carried away and when we lose we won't be too concerned."
Although the club's owner Patrick Cryne and many other members of staff said the initial aim this season was to stay in the Championship, Heckingbottom says he has been drilling into his players that they have to dream bigger than that.
"Even though our remit was to stay up, it wasn't our focus because then you limit yourself to wanting to finish fourth bottom – even though we would have been happy with that. In terms of resources, budget, wages and the experience of the players and coaching staff, we shouldn't be anywhere near where we are.
"We might be comparable with a League One club in those respects. But if you accept that they are your limitations, then you are going to fail. There are some really good people here who are winners and they work really hard to overachieve.
"Being this far away from the bottom three does change the feeling around the club a bit. We are ninth but we won't be happy with ninth. Anyone would have snapped your hand off if we had been offered that at the start of the season but we want to get even higher. We haven't set any targets but we'll keep looking to improve and see where we end up.
"The players have set terrific standards in training and the games and long may that continue. We've played every team in the league now and you are where you deserve to be at that point in the season so we deserve to be ninth."
