IT IS ten years exactly since Paul Heckingbottom’s Barnsley won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy at Wembley.

Heckingbottom had taken over as head coach in the February from Lee Johnson and oversaw a remarkable second half of the season as they went from the relegation zone at Christmas to winning their first Wembley cup final then the League One play-offs back at the national stadium in May.

Backed by more than 20,000 Reds fans, they came from 1-0 down at half-time against lower-league Oxford United to win 3-2 thanks to a Chey Dunkley own goal and strikes by Ashley Fletcher and Adam Hammill.

Heckingbottom told the Chronicle: “Even ten years on, I probably won’t really reflect on it until I’m retired and just down at Oakwell every week watching Barnsley.

“But Barnsley had never won at Wembley so it was big. If you don’t win, you don’t enjoy it down there.

“I remember the morning of the cup final, it hit home that I was managing Barnsley because I had so many messages on my phone.

“All of my friends and family are Barnsley fans and all of a sudden it wasn’t as if they had my number, it was as if they had the Barnsley manager on direct dial. The messages had a different tone to them. It sank in that there was a lot of people wanting us to win.

“I remember we didn’t play great in the first half. We had done everything we could to prepare for it but we were favourites which is different, against a good Oxford. We had a good chat at half-time then went out and performed much better.

“When we won it, it was a great achievement but it was straight back to trying to get promoted.”

Heckingbottom, who had achieved promotion as a player ten years earlier, was in charge of Barnsley for two years before leaving for Leeds United in 2018.

It had been his first managerial job after working in the Oakwell academy.

“Going up then staying up in the Championship were massive highlights for me. I am really proud of it and it’s something you don’t think is going to happen. I was never really setting out to be a head coach but it set me on this path. It was a fantastic time and I will never forget it.

“That season with the Wembley games, the head coach was a Barnsley fan and so was the owner Patrick Cryne and there was a really good connection between the fans, town and club.”

Heckingbottom’s stint in charge of the Reds was not entirely happy.

Barnsley were seventh in the Championship in January 2017 but Conor Hourihane and James Bree were sold to Aston Villa and Sam Winnall to Sheffield Wednesday, while Sam Morsy’s loan from Wigan was not extended.

Heckingbottom said: “100 per cent I wonder what could have been different. I have just had exactly the same thing with Preston (his current club).

“It’s a very competitive league so when you get a chance to capitalise on a lot of good work, you have to try to do it.

“I think about it all the time. We were up and around the play-offs. There were three teams who probably surprised everyone – Barnsley, Huddersfield and Reading.

“In that January, we sold players and lost Sam Morsy as well.

“Reading and Huddersfield bought players then, that summer, I am in Portugal on holiday watching that play-off final between Reading and Huddersfield.

“When your job is to try to push and win, you can’t help but be frustrated at things like that.

“A manager’s mindset is about performances and winning so it’s maybe different to everyone else at the football club who have to think about finances and other things.

“I am not criticising the decisions but they are not always aligned with winning games.”

Heckingbottom eventually moved to Leeds in February 2018.

Owner Cryne had sold the majority of his family’s stake in the club to a group led by Paul Conway and Chien Lee the previous December then the January transfer window saw the arrival of players such as Christoph Knasmullner who barely featured.

Heckingbottom said: “I had waited a long time to sign a new contract, to see about the new ownership, and there was a clause in it that I had final say on first team signings. Then within a few days of my signing it, they broke my contract signing players I said I didn’t want.

“There was no way I was staying. I can be stubborn and principle-led.

“I said ‘the next club that comes for me, I am going’. It just happened it was Leeds.

“There was no way I was going to work for people like that.”

Heckingbottom lasted just a few months with Leeds then, after a brief spell at Hibernian in Scotland, he became under 23s boss at Sheffield United and eventually took over the first team then led them to the Premier League. He has been in charge of Preston since August 2024.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Adam Davies

The Welsh ‘keeper was promoted with the Reds later this season before being relegated from the Championship in 2018. He was promoted back to the second tier a year later but joined Stoke City at the end of the campaign. He has made six appearances for Wales since and is currently at near neighbours Sheffield United.

George Williams

The right-back was released at the end of the season and returned to MK Dons where he began his career. He stayed there for five years before moving onto Bristol Rovers, Cambridge and Mansfield. He signed for Northern Premier League side Hednesford Town last month.

Marc Roberts

After leaving the Reds in 2017 for Birmingham City, he went onto play almost 200 times for the Midlands club. He rejoined Barnsley last season and has featured 11 times for the Reds so far in League One this campaign.

Alfie Mawson

The centre-back left the Reds early in the following season for Premier League Swansea City. After the Welsh club were relegated he joined Fulham for a fee reported to be around the £20m mark and was named in the England squad in 2018. He retired from football in 2023 due to injury.

Aidy White

White joined the Oakwell club permanently the following season but only featured 13 times in the Championship and was released in the summer. He spent two years out of football due to injury before signing for Hearts in Scotland and finishing his career with League Two Rochdale in 2023.

Lloyd Isgrove

The winger went back to loan club Southampton after the season end but would not sign for the Reds until a year later. His Barnsley career did not go to plan and he later had spells at Swindon and Bolton. He now plies his trade at semi-professional Hume City in Australia.

Josh Brownhill

The young midfielder impressed this season and earned a move to Bristol City in the Championship before signing for Burnley and playing in the Premier League. He is now at Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia and earns a reported £100,000 a week.

Conor Hourihane

Hourihane would leave the club the following January for Aston Villa and then reach the Premier League. He was a regular for the Irish national team and later had spells at Swansea, Sheffield United and Derby before re-signing for the Reds in 2024. He is the current head coach.

Adam Hammill

One of Barnsley’s greatest players of the modern era, Hammill left the club after they were relegated from the Championship and signed for St Mirren. After spells at Scunthorpe and in Ireland, Hammill has now retired from playing and is set to box former Coventry midfielder Steve Jennings in a charity event later this month.

Ashley Fletcher

The young striker signed for West Ham in the summer and has had a tumultuous career at clubs like Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday but looks to have found a home at Blackpool. He scored against Barnsley last season.

Sam Winnall

Like Hourihane, Winnall left in the ‘fire sale’ the following January and joined Sheffield Wednesday. He did not hit the heights he did at Oakwell and retired after spells at Derby, Oxford and Burton. He is now a counsellor.

Nick Townsend

The ‘keeper played 18 times during his Oakwell spell and has since played for Solihull Moors and Newport County. Despite being born in England, he has eight caps for Antigua and Barbuda.

James Bree

The full-back joined Hourihane at Aston Villa the following January and had stints at Ipswich and Luton. He is currently on loan at Charlton from Southampton.

Lewin Nyatanga

The former Welsh international joined Northampton on loan the following season but later announced his retirement from professional football to focus on family life.

Josh Scowen

The midfielder started at right-back in the play-off later this season and after a year in the Championship joined QPR. He then signed for Sunderland and has been at boyhood club Wycombe since 2021.

Marley Watkins

Like Scowen, Watkins left Oakwell the following summer for Norwich City and then had a spell at Bristol City under Lee Johnson. He then played for Cardiff and Aberdeen before settling at current club Kilmarnock.

Harry Chapman

Chapman looked a good prospect during this season but did not return to Oakwell and has since had spells at Sheffield United and Bradford City. He currently plays for Gateshead in the National League.

Ivan Toney

Toney had two loans spells at Oakwell and few could have imagined the career he would go onto have. After impressing at Peterborough he moved to Brentford and was clinical in the Premier League, earning him seven England appearances. He has scored 64 goals in 82 games for Saudi club Al-Ahli.