Jacob Brown says his experience playing in various different positions is helping him now he has returned to his preferred role of striker.
The 21-year-old has played at right-back, right wing and left wing-back this season under Daniel Stendel and caretaker Adam Murray but new head coach Gerhard Struber has used him up front with Conor Chaplin.
Brown told the Chronicle: “In the first session (under Struber) I played right-back but, because he knows I like to run in behind and work hard and press, that’s why he’s playing me up front. Last season, if the only position I could have played was up front, I might not have played because Cauley (Woodrow) and Kieffer (Moore) were doing so well. My versatility has helped me out and I have a lot more experience now, but to be back up front is a boost for me. It’s where I prefer to play.”
He added: “I am an attacking player but, over the last year, I have played a lot of positions. I will play anywhere to help the team but I feel more comfortable up front. It allows me to play better. I can just play without thinking about where I need to be all the time.”
Brown, who is set to make his 50th league appearance for Barnsley tomorrow, has netted once in 15 games this season. He said: “I need to get goals and assists. Playing higher up the pitch, I am going to have more chances. I have set a few goals up in the last games but I would like to score more. But I don’t mind if I don’t score as long as we win.”
Barnsley have scored regularly in recent weeks but defensive mistakes have cost them. “In a lot of games, we have scored a lot of goals and that’s why it is so frustrating. It would be more worrying if we were never scoring. It’s good because the goals are not just from the attackers. Bambo (Diaby) scored on Saturday and he’s a defender. We need to make sure, as a team, that we defend better and don’t concede as many.”
Brown praised Struber, saying: “He’s good. You can tell he’s got a lot of passion and he’s there to help us out. He spends a lot of time talking to each individual player, letting them know what they need to do in the games coming up.”
