WYCOMBE Wanderers striker Cauley Woodrow is looking forward to playing against Barnsley on Saturday for the first time since his prolific four-year stint with the Reds.

The 30-year-old was at Oakwell from 2018 to 2022, playing 157 games and scoring 53 goals which is the most by any player since the year 2000 for Barnsley. He reached double figures in three consecutive seasons, the promotion campaign in League One in 2018/19 then two in the Championship.

Woodrow told the Chronicle: “I am very much looking forward it. It feels like a lifetime ago that I was there. I spent four seasons there and loved it.

“It’s a fantastic club with great fans and we had a lot of success together.

“If you look at my career, it’s definitely the most successful spell I’ve had so far. I played regular minutes and scored 53 goals which is good going.

“I had a lot more ups than downs but enjoyed all of it.

“I thought I did really, really well for the club and I would like to think I’d get a good reception from the fans.”

Woodrow was part of Valerien Ismael’s Barnsley side who finished fifth in the Championship in the 2020/21 season, scoring in the play-off final loss against a Swansea City team for whom current Reds head coach Conor Hourihane played.

He said: “That season was magical.

“The way we played, the spirit. It was weird that there were no fans. But I genuinely believe if we didn’t have Swansea we would have got to the final. They were the team we couldn’t beat.

“It could have ended up very differently but it was a really special time.”

He was captain for the relegation season the next year but missed much of it due to injury then was sold to Luton Town who he helped to the Premier League. Woodrow said: “I have experienced it at Luton as well, sometimes there is a hangover and disappointment follows into the next season.

“We lost the manager we loved, Ismael, then had two or three managers. We had injuries as well.

“It was a big shame we went down and as players we were accountable.

“We didn’t do well enough.”

Having been loaned to Ismael’s Blackburn Rovers last season, he has been loaned out again by Luton and has one goal in four games for Wycombe.

He is now working under Michael Duff, who was Barnsley boss in the 2022/23 season when Woodrow left for Luton just before pre-season started.

“I am loving it here. It’s a great club with really good players.

“I have only been here a few weeks but it’s nice to be playing again and enjoying my football again.

“When I left Barnsley, he (Duff) had just come in and I exchanged a text which was the only time I had spoken to him. We’ve had a good few chats about Barnsley. We know mutual people and he had a successful time there as well.

“He’s a good man and I’ve really enjoyed working with him.”