Doug O’Kane looks at the key issues during this festive

period for the Reds

MUCH MORE CONSISTENCY

A decade ago, Conor Hourihane was captain of a Barnsley side who were in the League One relegation zone.

They had just lost 2-0 at home to a Wigan team managed by Gary Caldwell, who also defeated them as Exeter boss on Saturday.

Lee Johnson’s team had not won at home in three months, had only recently ended an eight-game losing streak and looked in danger of slipping into the fourth tier for the first time since the 1970s. They were about to go on a remarkable seven-game winning run which kick-started their charge towards the Wembley wins in the EFL Trophy and play-off final.

Ten years on, with Hourihane now wearing the manager’s tracksuit rather than the skipper’s armband, they are neither in full-blown crisis or close to promotion form.

Instead they find themselves in a frustrating hinterland – excellent at times in attack, often dreadful in defence, impressive one week then abject the next and with games in hand on the top six but an ominous six points away from it.

This was due to be a transitional season and so it has proved but, when you see how well they can play in glimpses, it is fair to question whether the coaches and players should be doing better.

If they are to make the argument that they are a young side who are hit and miss at the moment, the misses need to be less frequent and miserable than, for example, the 3-0 loss at then third-bottom Exeter on Saturday.

Those games hint at more than a work in process team, they are indications that this Reds side – which has plenty of experienced players in it – can be fragile, error-prone and, fairly frequently, just a bad football team.

Is the inconsistency just down to youth and inexperience or a lack of quality in key areas?

There are not enough players in the squad currently able to perform regularly at the standard required to challenge for third tier promotion.

They desperately need to cut out the really poor performances every few matches otherwise, with so many games in the immediate future, they could be well adrift of promotion contention and a run like in 2016 would be tough to repeat.

The table since winning five of their first seven league games of the season world have them 20th with 15 points from 12 games – albeit having played one fewer than most sides around them.

Injuries to key players like Reyes Cleary or Davis Keillor-Dunn would be devastating to their chances but that is the case with the best players in many sides up and down the country.

QUALITY AND DEPTH FROM WINDOW

The Reds are keen to add strength in depth to their squad during the January transfer window with a busy second half of the season ahead and little reliable back-up in certain areas.

The next few games may be important for putting themselves in an attractive league position for new recruits. Hourihane would not confirm they definitely want a new defender but, given how many poor goals they ship, it has to be an area they are looking for better quality in.

Marc Roberts brings a lot to the team but tends to pick up injuries quite frequently and the 35-year-old may not suit every game as he is still aerially dominant but not as sharp against pacy forwards as when in his 20s. Jack Shepherd looks to have the makings of a good centre-back at this level but Mael de Gevigney and Josh Earl each make too many errors.

Tennai Watson is the only natural right-back while both left-backs Georgie Gent and Nathanael Ogbeta are due to return from injury soon.

Hourihane has said he wants at least two more attackers. In terms of strikers, Davis Keillor-Dunn has 13 goals and is one of the top-scorers in the division but is only back-up up front is David McGoldrick, 38, who has not netted in 12 league games across more than four months and untested Leo Farrell who turns 20 on Tuesday.

A different type of striker whose strengths are running in behind defences, or holding the ball up with a physical presence, would give the Reds more variety.

On the wings, Reyes Cleary has been a sensation and the idea of a fit-again Fabio Jalo providing a similar threat on the other side is very promising.

But they could do with even more firepower on the flanks to add strength in depth from the bench, allow players to be rested during a busy schedule and provide cover in case of injury.

As usual, there will be a nervous wait to see if Barnsley will sell any star men in January.

They haven’t done so in the winter window for seven years and seem determined to hold out for their asking price. But anything is possible, especially when they have a prolific goal machine like Keillor-Dunn and a winger like Cleary who looks too good for the level at times.

Those players – and Luca Connell and Adam Phillips who have been talked about potentially leaving in every window for years – all have at least 18 months remaining on their contract.

As usual, the Reds will only sell for their valuation and, even then, they would have to consider if the departure would derail a promotion push or if the player may be worth more in the summer.

There is no secret there are books to be balanced but potentially the income from drawing Liverpool in the FA Cup might provide a cash-injection which alleviates some of the temptation to sell.

Like in the summer, Barnsley are likely to need to move fringe players on to be able to bring in replacements. They will surely be wondering if it is worth continuing the loans of Jake Rooney – who has only played 45 minutes of league football – and Caylan Vickers who has not started any of the last seven league games, often not playing at all.

Hourihane hinted that the Reds could move on Jon Russell who has not started a league game this season, has a World Cup play-off to prepare for with only a few months left on his contract.

DEFENDING MUST IMPROVE QUICKLY

Barnsley have conceded 49 goals in all competitions before Christmas.

They will threaten three figures if they continue at that rate but the number is inflated by heavy defeats in cup competitions to Brighton and Port Vale.

What is more worrying is they have only kept two clean sheets so far this season, the lowest number in League One, and just three in total in 36 games under Conor Hourihane – two at Peterborough and one at Oakwell.

The nature of the goals is very disappointing as they are often sloppy collectively or due to individual errors.

The three conceded at Exeter were good examples of the basic issues the Reds have struggled with all season – failing to track runners, mark from set pieces or win the initial duels. It is debatable whether they have the quality of defenders to launch a promotion push but the players in front of them often do not protect the back four adequately.

They often seem to wilt on the pitch with one goal regularly bringing another not long after.

In attack, they definitely have a lot of quality for this level but, against stubborn defences, they can sometimes be blunted.

BUSY CHRISTMAS PERIOD A BIG TEST

Barnsley have just started a spell of five games in 15 days which is many as in the more than two months between the trips to Wycombe on October 4 and Lincoln on December 9.

Having been through a sparse schedule due to cup games and international breaks, their consistency and squad depth will be tested over the frantic festive period with injuries mounting. They lost comfortably against a side in the relegation zone, Exeter on Saturday – not an ideal start to a vital run – and now need an immediate response against another when they host the badly off-form Mansfield on Boxing Day.

The following two games look more difficult in theory as Monday’s visitors Lincoln are second and have beaten the Reds twice this season while New Year’s Day hosts Wigan are next to Barnsley in the table.

They then go to Port Vale who are bottom and winless in ten but have beaten them twice this season by an aggregate score of 7-0.

They may need to win at least three of them to keep a reasonable gap to the top six, with their games in hand.

But, if they play like they did in Devon throughout, they will go the other way in this very congested league and be drawn towards the relegation zone.

Then there is the trip to Anfield in the FA Cup, which will on the players’ minds to some extent during their busy run of league games over New Year.

There is an even busier period to come between late January and mid-March in which the Reds are due to play 15 games in 52 days with seven midweek fixtures.