COREY O’Keeffe will be motivated to ‘do a job’ on his former club Mansfield Town on Saturday.
The Barnsley full-back signed with the Stags in 2020 but, having played regularly to start with, he was barely used once current manager Nigel Clough took over and was loaned out to Rochdale.
O’Keeffe told the Chronicle: “It is extra motivation, 100 per cent.
“I have got a few really good friends still at Mansfield, some of the players and I know people around the club.
“But my time there didn’t go as planned. I will be looking to go and do a job on them.”
Barnsley face another of O’Keeffe’s former clubs on the final day of the season when they host Stockport County where he spent the first half of the campaign on loan before being sent back.
The 27-year-old believes the Reds are capable of joining County in the fight to finish in the play-offs by that stage.
“Someone said to me the other day that that will be the last game of the season, imagine if there was something on it. It would be good and exciting.
“I hope that is the case.”
O’Keeffe was loaned out last summer as, having mainly played as a wing-back, Conor Hourihane wanted to change to a back four.
But now he is playing regularly on the right of a back four.
“At the start of the season it was the right hand side that was a lot more defensive then he (Hourihane) said Reyes (Cleary) now is an outlet on the left.
“He said this would suit me and it has.
“I feel like my defensive play has got better, my one v one defending, and I still have the license to get higher when we get the ball in the final third.
“I have enjoyed it.”
O’Keeffe has been playing behind Vimal Yoganathan who has impressed on the right wing in the last two games.
“Vim has been brilliant since he’s come in for the last couple of games.
“I have really enjoyed him playing in front of me – his workrate then, when he gets on the ball, he expresses himself.”
Barnsley are yet to keep a clean sheet since O’Keeffe returned to the club.
“I said a few weeks ago it’s not going to come overnight but there has been an improvement.
“Defensively it feels a lot more structured and it feels like we’re not giving up as many chances and we’re defending the box a lot better.”
