MARC Roberts is ‘praying’ the Barnsley FC hierarchy gets behind Conor Hourihane this summer and gives him ‘the tools to do what he wants to do.’
Roberts – who gained promotion with Hourihane as players in 2016 – returned to his hometown club this season and has been disappointed by a mid-table finish in League One.
His comments calling for Hourihane to be backed echo those of Stephen Humphrys last week, although the new head coach has repeated that he is getting ‘brilliant’ backing from the board.
Roberts told the Chronicle: “I love Conor, I think he will be a success.
“But he needs everyone pulling the club the way he wants to go.
“He will get the club where it needs to be. Whether that will be challenging next season, it will definitely be more successful.
“It’s down to what the club want to do now, top to bottom.
“Do the club want to give Conor the tools to do what he wants to do or are we going to consolidate and accept this is what it is?
“I can’t answer those questions.
“I have played with Conor, I know him as a person. He’s incredibly driven.
“He will be working his nuts off and I know he’s desperate to be successful.
“I hope the fans see that and get behind him and I pray that the club do as well.”
Barnsley have conceded 88 goals in all competitions this season.
Roberts said: “That’s shocking.
“We do score goals but, if you can’t keep them out, you will never go anywhere. You can’t go into games needing to score two or three every time.
“I have said to Davo (Davis Keillor-Dunn) he needs to take pride out of it.
“He’s probably one of the only ones that can.
“He’s one of the only ones who has knuckled down and done what he’s done.
“He must be looking back at us lads and saying: ‘cheers lads.’
“I am not calling anyone out, it’s a group thing.
“It isn’t always down to the goalkeeper or defenders.
“Most of the goals we’ve conceded, somewhere along the line everyone could have stepped in somewhere.
“The season is gone now but we have to be better.”
Roberts had hoped to challenge for promotion this season, having finished in the bottom half of the Championship in seven successive campaigns with previous club Birmingham.
“Maybe it’s me. It’s frustration after frustration.
“At times we’ve been around the play-off places this season.
“The fans are probably watching us sometimes thinking ‘we’ve got a right chance’ but others times we look at a team at the bottom.
“There’s no middle ground. We’re probably finishing where we deserve to.”
