Barnsley head coach Poya Asbaghi has 'mixed feelings' after what he said was 'the best performance since I arrived' but the wait for a first win went on in a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town at Oakwell.
The Reds fell behind but levelled before the break but the draw means they stay second-bottom and eight points off safety.
Asbaghi told the Chronicle: "I have mixed feelings, I am not super happy because we wanted to win. But as a coach, you want to see progress and the players are adapting fast to what we say in training. We don't have time to wait four or five weeks for players to understand what we mean. The players have responded well and made a lot of progress. I am eager to train again next week, and if they keep responding, they will improve week by week and hopefully we can make these draws into victories."
The two previous games under Asbaghi had seen the Reds play very defensively but, after a full week in training under him for the first time, they were far better in attack.
"It was the best performance since I arrived by far. What we took with us from the last game was a solid defence and a clean sheet but we knew we had to improve our offence a lot and we put of focus on that. There were big improvements today. We played, especially in the first half, really good football for long periods- creating chances, pushing Huddersfield down, and the feeling at half-time was that we were the better team and we would win.
"We started the second half well but, the more the half went, maybe we got more stressed with the ball from counter-attacks and build-ups. We were not as eager as in the first half to help the centre-backs and Brad (Collins, the goalkeeper) to keep the ball. We lost balls too easily.
"That meant we had to chase the ball a lot more which made us pretty tired. Looking at us after 70 to 75 minutes we were not as fresh as I would have liked which takes away energy to chase the decisive goal. The second half wasn't too bad but it could be better."
Captain Cauley Woodrow added: "I know we need wins but, in terms of performance, I don't think anyone can say we looked like a bottom of the league team. We were excellent and deserved to win the game.
"We have nothing to lose and, if we go down in a game, we have to keep going. We did that and we got a point which could be the decisive one at the end of the season."
Michal Helik's loose pass gifted the Terriers the lead. Asbaghi said: "We can always look at the individual but, for me, it also has to do with positioning and tactical awareness. We can learn from this when we analyse the game. When we do that, we will not lose the ball as much."
Carlton Morris got the equaliser. Asbaghi said: "He was definitely one of the best players on the pitch. He can hold the ball and protect it, he can take on defenders one versus one, and all of those ingredients pushed Huddersfield back and pushed us up. But he is not only scoring, when I see the progress he makes in training in terms of how to defend and how to press - he was contributing a lot. He symbolises what we want, hard-working players who mix this with good offence."
He added: "Pretty immediately after we concede, we create a chance then we equalise. When you play well and know what is expected, it doesn't matter sometimes if you go 1-0 down.
"If the roles are not clear, it is easy to look at your team-mates and wait for somebody else to do something. I saw 11 players who kept believing and kept doing the right things."
Asbaghi believes the Reds' attack can improve further, saying: "If you look at the times we arrived in the last third and the times we had a really good chance, we can improve. We can improve our patterns, our movement and where to put the ball. Hopefully then we will create even more chances and hopefully more goals.
"This week there was a lot of focus on offence. Next week we need to work on offence but also we cannot forget about the defence. It will be both. That is the way to win games."
While Huddersfield fans booed their team off, the home supporters applauded after the game. Asbaghi said: "The fans want us to show we are developing, that is the most important thing. If we won but played really bad, maybe they would be more frightened about what will come. It is early, it is about collecting points but we also need to develop to a certain level where we can collect points every week. I hope they got a glimpse of that but I hope they understand we are not happy with a draw."
