TOM BRADSHAW feels he owes Barnsley a debt for starting his long stint in the Championship and hopes to repay that in the remainder of this League One season.
The striker signed for the Reds for the first time in 2016 from Walsall, after they had been promoted to the second tier.
He stayed at that level for almost a decade, with Barnsley as well as Millwall and Oxford, before returning to Oakwell last week on loan now aged 33 to play under former team-mate Conor Hourihane in League One.
Bradshaw told the Chronicle: “The Championship is a very very good and competitive league so for Barnsley to give me that opportunity to play in it, I will always be grateful.
“That allowed me to play in the Championship for the last ten years and have some great memories and experiences.
“I am in debt to the club and I would like to try to repay that.”
Bradshaw did not start for Oxford in the league this season, coming off the bench five times, while his previous start in any competition was in the EFL Cup in August.
He said: “I was speaking to my agent a lot over the window and obviously I was frustrated with the first half of the season at Oxford.
“We were always in talks about a possible loan in January. I needed it.
“Six months in football is a long time just to be sat champing at the bit.
“I had quite a few loan options then, when Barnsley came up, I said to my agent straight away I wanted to join.
“This isn’t just me saying it because I am at the club.
“It’s my first loan and I wanted somewhere I felt comfortable and I could settle in and hit the ground running.
“With the history I have got with Barnsley, it was a no-brainer.
“I spoke to Con about what he wants from me, what I would like from the club and it was really quick, even though it was three or four days before the end of the window.”
Bradshaw played 90 minutes in the 3-2 loss at Bolton on Saturday.
He said: “It’s been a long time since I have been playing regularly. It’s great for me to feel my body in the moments of playing 90 minutes.
“It was great to get that first game done and crack the rust off.
“I look forward to scoring lots of goals between now and the end of the season.”
Bradshaw is set to play plenty of football in the remainder of the window with Barnsley having 19 games left. He and 38-year-old David McGoldrick are the only senior strikers but he says managing his minutes has not been discussed.
“There are a lot of games left, pretty much Saturday, Tuesday bar a couple of weeks until the end of the season.
“But that’s something I have dealt with in my whole career and I am sure Didzy is the same.
“I have generally been in small squads so it’s just part of football.
“It’s not something I am stressed about, if anything I am looking forward to it.”
Bradshaw is not surprised his former captain Hourihane has become a manager.
He said: “I can still remember one of my first training sessions when I started here ten years ago.
“You could see the leadership qualities, you don’t captain a football club if you haven’t got them. There are players you play with in your career who you think will be a great manager and Conor was one of them.”
Asked for his highlights from his first Barnsley spell, he said: “The local derby goals – Sheffield United, 3-2 winner at home, Leeds at home on telly, Rotherham being my first Championship goal. The two at Aston Villa were great with a big chunk of my family being Villa fans and sitting in the Holte End that night. That’s one of my best career memories.”
