CONOR Hourihane says fans who booed him on Tuesday are ‘entitled to their opinion’ and is frustrated that a Barnsley team he believes have the potential to be in the top six continue to be inconsistent.

The Reds are 13th in League One, eight points clear of the relegation zone and nine off the top six.

They have 14 games to play, more than every other side, with just eight weeks left in the season.

They have not kept a clean sheet in 18 matches and have two in the league all season which is the fewest of any club in the top seven divisions in England.

Barnsley are due to host Exeter City on Saturday then title-challengers Cardiff City on Tuesday.

This week, they won 3-1 at lowly Leyton Orient on Saturday then lost 1-0 at home to Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday, after which Hourihane was targeted for loud booing.

Asked for his response to the crowd, he told the Chronicle: “They’re entitled to their opinions on it. They obviously came here on a Tuesday night and off the back of the Leyton Orient game wanted to see that victory.

“I’m just as flat as them and I know they’ll be disappointed like I am.

“It was a performance that I wasn’t expecting. It probably caught me off guard a little bit.”

The midweek loss ended a five-game unbeaten run at Oakwell.

Hourihane said: “It wasn’t going to last forever. We’ve got some tough games between now and the end of the season at home. We wanted to keep that going. But it’s time to start another run now.”

Barnsley have played nine games this season against the current top six in League One, which now includes Wycombe, and not won any of them.

Hourihane told the Chronicle: “There’s a realisation that, when we want to push on and try to become that team to challenge moving forward, we just can’t quite make that step for some reason, which is frustrating.

“So, are we as strong as the top six sides in the league? Clearly not, because we’re not up there. But is there a potential for our team to be there? Yes.

“But every time we’ve been asked that question to try and make that leap, we just can’t quite get there for whatever reason. But it won’t be for the want of trying. We will go away and have a look at it, assess and keep trying to move forward.”

He added: “Do certain individuals realise right now what it takes to win game after game after game and be successful? Probably not because they’re learning.

“The older ones then are obviously trying to guide them and, at the same time, their performances need to be consistently better as well.

“And then you’ve obviously got myself who’s learning consistently every single day. And I think Tuesday night was a big one for myself, in terms of the heavy schedule that we have and prioritising certain bits rather than trying to cover everything at the same time.”

Hourihane said he had thought carefully about how to react to the midweek loss, in terms of tactical changes and the way he addresses the players.

“It’s an endless cycle of: what do I need to do? How do I need to come in? How do I need to have my energy?

“I mentioned a few things after the game in the dressing room.

“I’m a big believer, and I try my utmost, even though it’s an emotional world and an emotional game, that when you come in the next day after a game, people look at you and go: ‘how’s the manager? What’s his energy like? Is he moody?’

“And I really try to have a real focus and a real unemotional persona around me because that was one big thing I didn’t really like from managers when they were still really emotional after going through a post-match game.

“So it would be a real calm approach and: how we can get better?”

Hourihane said Tuesday’s match was a ‘game too many’ for some of his players. Asked what he thinks the impact will be on his squad of another five matches in a fortnight starting from Saturday, he told the Chronicle: “Time will tell, I suppose. I’ve got no answer for you.

“But we are where we are in terms of squad. We are where we are in terms of our schedule. So we’re trying to manage as many lads as best we can.

“I said team sheets would come out, and one or two won’t be playing and that’s the relentless nature of our schedule and our thin squad.

“I’m hoping that how we’re looking after them on and off the pitch is going to make them get through this period.

“It’s a period that I’ve probably not often seen in my playing career, never mind my first full season in management and probably won’t see again for quite a while.

“If the Northampton game’s called off, we don’t have a free midweek until the end of the season, which is quite unique and quite difficult. So we’re trying to do the best we can from that point of view.”

After this week’s two home games, Barnsley visit Mansfield Town on March 14 – the only away match in a sequence of six. They then host Wigan Athletic on a Tuesday night and near neighbours Doncaster Rovers before a possible international break if they have three call-ups and choose not to play at Northampton Town on March 28.