Saturday's 4-0 win at Peterborough United was Barnsley’s third victory by that scoreline in 11 matches which have brought the most points at this stage of a season since 1978.

While it was a fantastic day for the first team, it was also a superb one for the Oakwell academy which is beginning to thrive after what the Reds admit have been a few lean years.

In the morning, the under 18s crushed Crewe Alexandra 7-1 then Ben Williams excelled in his first team debut at Peterborough where the scoring was completed by Jacob Brown.

Brown, 20, and Williams, 19, are graduates from the Barnsley under 23s team as are 20-year-olds Victor Adeboyejo – who has three goals this season – Jack Walton and Jared Bird.

It is possible that all five of those players could start against Luton Town tomorrow due to international call-ups and injuries for more senior members of the squad.

“It’s going well and the future is bright,” says former Barnsley player and now Oakwell’s academy manager Bobby Hassell.

“There is a talent pool of about ten players aged from 16 to 20 who we believe can be first team regulars in the future. They have the ability to be top end Championship players at least.

“There is no point spending £500,000 or £1million on a player when there are players in the academy who we believe, given the right time, will be even better than some of the players who have been brought in in recent years. It needs the belief from the board and buy-in from the manager which we are getting.”

Hassell was tasked in the summer with introducing new head coach Daniel Stendel and his staff to Barnsley and he believes the relationship is working well.

Bobby said: “When the manager first came in, I suggested five or six of the 23s to train with him every day. He took that on board from day one and most of them are involved in the first team now.

“I have a good relationship with him and spent a lot of time with him in the summer. I can knock on his door any time and say ‘is it possible for this player to train with you?’ and he’ll try to accommodate that. He’s had 16-year-olds training with him who have done particularly well and he keeps a close eye on them.”

Hassell says the youth teams are replicating Stendel’s style of play. He said: “It kicks in from about 13 onwards. We are playing 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 with the high press and counter-attack style. The same messages are being conveyed by each coach and there is a synergy from the youth system to the first team.”

Hassell admits Williams was fortunate that both senior left-backs Zeki Fryers and Dani Pinillos were injured at the same time, but says the player and coaches deserve credit for making sure he was ready.

Bobby said: “There is always a bit of luck involved. Ben was thrown in because there were no other options. That is how I made my debut and it’s how Mason Holgate (now at Premier League Everton) made his debut. It’s then up to the player to sink or swim.

“Ben Williams, five months ago, would have been a nervous wreck to make his debut. But he has been training with the first team all season and he knows the players, the tempo and aggression of that level so it was a seamless transition on his debut.”

Hassell is surrounded by former Barnsley team-mates in academy coaching roles. Martin Devaney is under 23s boss, Tom Harban is one of the under 18s coaches, Dale Tonge is in charge of the under 16s and Luke Potter helps with the under 14s part-time.

The academy boss is pleased with the progress made since he returned to the club in 2015. He said: “We didn’t have a recruitment officer for three years so, when I first started, there were a lot of weak agegroups which wasn’t the fault of the coaches.

“Luckily, with the support of Patrick Cryne (former owner), I was able to bring in three or four extra staff and launch a recruitment drive to fill the gaps which needed filling.

“A lot of those players came from nowhere near Barnsley but now we are focusing on filling the younger age groups with players from the town or very close. There is a lot of competition from the Sheffield clubs. Manchester United and City each have more scouts in Barnsley than we do, so it’s hard.

“But every lad, in my time in this role, who has come to have a look at our club bar one has signed because they see the facilities, they see the ex-players and good people coaching and the parents buy into it. We have two or three special lads from Barnsley coming through. Will they be the next John Stones? We’ll see.”

Jasper Moon, Kieran Feeney and Jordan Helliwell were on the bench for the Checkatrade Trophy match at Oldham last month when the Reds selected nine academy players.

Hassell has highlighted Aiden Marsh, a 14-year-old from Monk Bretton, and 15-year-old Kareem Hassan-Smith who signed from Huddersfield, as top prospects.

He added: “Both of them are being regularly scouted by England. I believe if they were at Premier League clubs they would be in the England squads for their age groups.”