BARNSLEY are now realistically certain to spend their longest period outside the top two divisions in English football since the doldrum years of the 1970s.

Based on the safe assumption that they do not win or lose all of the nine games they have left, they will finish in mid-table in League One for a second successive year and play in it for a fifth straight season from August.

This was always likely to be a mid-table season as a young manager brings through new talents on apparently the 13th-best budget in the third tier, attempting to reconnect with a fanbase who vary from supportive, to furious, to apathetic and losing interest amid strong anti-owner sentiment.

The positives have been their improved home form, compared to last season, some impressive attacking football and one of the highest goals totals in the division while individuals like Reyes Cleary, Patrick Kelly and David McGoldrick have been great stories.

But they have been terrible defensively, very unpredictable and the ‘we are where we are due to budget’ rhetoric is undermined by Lincoln being first with Bradford and Stevenage in the top six. Given the vitriol towards the players and staff after Saturday’s game, and Hourihane’s gloomy post-match prediction of a mid-table season next year, we can expect another significant fall in season ticket numbers for 2026/27 at a club stuck in a rut.

This is not where Barnsley fans feel like their club belongs and, even if the currents in the lightly-regulated modern footballing financial cesspool are pulling against them, it irks to hear people at the top seemingly lacking the spirit of overachieving that has provided some of the club's greatest moments.

Another sacking surely not the answer but some worrying signs

There surely cannot be an overwhelming appetite in the boardroom or in the terraces for yet another managerial sacking, with the financial outlay and reset which would follow, especially when the incumbent is a club legend in his first job who has clearly been let down at times by recruitment and his players.

But Hourihane has struggled to get any type of consistency out of a talented if flawed squad while his side have kept the fewest clean sheets in English football and are on course to concede 100 goals in all competitions this season.

While the football has been good to watch at times, it has often been down to excellent individuals rather than an unplayable team style. He is yet to prove he can coach a consistent, solid side but that may change given more experience and another good summer of recruitment.

There seems to be some angst behind the scenes at Oakwell, with Hourihane saying fan anger should be directed at others and that the minutes some of his players have had to play have been ‘obscene’.

Given that they sacked Neill Collins when fifth in the division two years ago, you cannot predict what the owners will do and, although chairman Neerav Parekh has said they want to back Hourihane through inconsistent spells, a real slump in the final games may test everyone’s patience.

Hourihane shocked fans on Saturday by saying ‘it will be the same next year’ but it is thought he meant the budget rather than league placing.

Still things to play for, most importantly making fans happy

There are still things to play for in the last nine games of the season – most crucially giving the fans something to cheer and performing a lot better than in the dour loss to Doncaster.

They need to get back to the free-scoring side we saw earlier in the season, keep some clean sheets and better last season’s 12th-placed finish on 61 points. We may also see other young players get opportunities.

It remains to be seen what impact being out of the promotion race will have on the mentality of players who mostly came to Barnsley to try to reach the Championship.

But you have to wonder if a certain mid-table finish, plus the talk from their manager that that is essentially where they belong due to finances, will sap morale and could lead to some more tough days.

The Reds will play their final nine games of the season in 29 days which will be one of their busiest finales to a season but one of the most meaningless with a dead rubber every three or four days.

They recently played seven in 21 days before the current international break and collected nine points, with players looking spent towards the end.

Barnsley’s remaining games are all against sides who, as of now, have plenty to play for – starting at Burton who are just above the relegation zone. They visit the current bottom three and take on the clubs from fourth to seventh.

Some of those teams might be relegated, secure in the top six or stuck in mid-table by the time they face the Reds, but many of them will have far more to play for than the Oakwell club. Having played five out of six at home, winning one, they now play six of the next eight away from home where they have a poor record, winning just two of 15 since August.

Although Burton Albion, Rotherham United and Port Vale are not very far, going to a similar area of the country three times to visit Stevenage, Luton and Northampton may be a logistical challenge.