CONOR Hourihane is close to finalising his new-look backroom staff with at least one new coach expected to arrive in the coming days.
The head coach is looking to freshen up the coaching department, having been given the first team job full-time in April.
The identity of the new coaching staff is unknown as yet but it was thought to be close to being finalised as of yesterday.
Martin Devaney left the club in April after almost 20 years as a player then coach. Jon Stead could also leave, having been linked with a move to Bristol Rovers to reunite with previous boss Darrell Clarke.
Hourihane has been working with Tom Harban who was promoted from his role as under 21s coach.
The Reds are now two weeks into their off-season, having finished 12th in League One in the 2024/25 campaign.
The players are expected to return in late June with the new campaign due to kick off on August 2, and fixtures announced on June 26.
They are likely to play a series of UK-based friendlies throughout July, with the schedule set to be announced in the near future.
Worksop Town announced they will host the Reds on July 5.
The transfer window is due to open on June 1 then close again on the tenth before re-opening on the 16th until September 1. That is due to an ‘exceptional registration period’ for this summer’s Club World Cup and a transfer window not being permitted to last more than 89 days.
Clubs can still register new players outside the window, with Barnsley talking to several free agents.
They are braced for yet another tumultuous summer of change with new head coach Hourihane calling for a ‘reset’ and set to take a more hands-on approach than some predecessors to recruitment along with other areas.
The Reds are expected to sell players this summer, with chairman Neerav Parekh saying in March they would ‘absolutely have to sell’ in order to offset projected losses of £8-10million next season.
Davis Keillor-Dunn is their prize asset, having netted 19 goals and added seven assists last season which earned him a nomination for League One’s Player of the Year.
The 27-year-old is contracted until 2028, including a club option.
Midfielder Adam Phillips has hit double figures for goals and assists consistently in his three years at Oakwell, but struggled for form for parts of the last campaign and was in and out of the team under Hourihane who said ‘time will tell’ what his future holds.
Phillips’ contract expires in a year but the Reds have an option to add another season.
There could be some profit to be made off fringe players. Defender Kacper Lopata impressed on loan at Ross County, whose season is still ongoing, while the Reds are overloaded in that position and plan to change from three centre-backs to two under Hourihane.
Barnsley are in negotiations over a new deal for forward Stephen Humphrys, who scored nine goals last season including five in his last five games, and 21-year-old goalkeeper Kieren Flavell, who broke into the first team under Hourihane but has been scouted by Premier League clubs.
Also offered new deals are teenagers Luke Alker, Aaron Atkinson, Kieran Graham, Ziggy Kozluk, Bayley McCann and Tom Senior.
