CONOR Hourihane admits he never expected to need some extra points to make sure of Barnsley’s safety in League One going into the final three weeks of the season, but will be making sure his players adapt quickly to their new reality.

The Reds are 14th in League One, five points clear of the relegation zone with seven games to play in the remaining three weeks of the season and three in hand on some sides below them.

They drew 1-1 at Burton Albion on Friday – thanks to a 90th-minute leveller – then lost 3-0 at home to Plymouth Argyle on Monday.

Barnsley are winless in six and Hourihane has said they need ‘three or four points’ to avoid a relegation fight.

They are due to visit two sides in the relegation zone in the coming week when they go to near neighbours Rotherham United on Saturday then bottom club Port Vale on Tuesday.

Hourihane told the Chronicle: “It’s really, really frustrating and really, really disappointing. It’s something I didn’t plan to be saying in the last seven games.

“It’s something that we need to put right and there’s no better way to start than in a local derby at Rotherham.

“The sooner we get the points the better but we need to have the right mindset and make sure the application is at a really high level and not let it drag on.

“Full focus is on Rotherham.”

Barnsley players throughout the season have spoken about hopes of promotion. Will they be able to switch their mindset to staving off a relegation fight?

Hourihane said: “I’m hoping so and that’s going to be the complete message.

“I think if anyone was hoping that it’s just going to happen, that’s the wrong mindset completely.

“We’ve got to go make it happen.

“We need to make sure that we have unbelievably good days now on the grass towards the end of the week heading into the Rotherham game. There will be full clarity in terms of our gameplan and how the players are going to set up and look. But ultimately, you need to fight and have the right mentality going into the game.

“It’s all well and good going on about pressing shapes and tactics and structure and how you want to look. But ultimately, you need to do the basics of the game to get a foothold in any game, to be competitive and to give yourself a chance of getting the right result.”

If Barnsley concede at Rotherham, it will be 26 straight games without a clean sheet in all competitions which will be a club record within a single season.

No side has let in more goals in League One this season than Barnsley with 64 while they have already conceded as many as last season in all competitions, 90, with seven to play.

Hourihane has repeatedly said Barnsley work very hard on defending in training. Asked if the work they were doing was the right work, and if it is getting through to the players, he told the Chronicle: “I think that’s probably a question that I will answer properly on reflection at the end of the season, really.

“I think I believe in the work that me and the staff do. I believe in the work that the players are doing in terms of listening to the information.

“Have we really forced that information from the very first day of pre-season? Yes.

“Have we gone about it in a certain way that maybe you could change in the future? Potentially.

“But that’s something that we will reflect on probably in the off-season and then move forward with it to see if there’s a different way maybe you can go about it.”

He added: “It was the one thing probably in the off-season that I said that I wanted a real improvement on.

“I think last year, teams who were in and around the top six were getting 15 clean sheets maybe. And we’ve just been nowhere near good enough in terms of keeping clean sheets.

“Full responsibility on me, full accountability on me.

“And I know the players would be also very disappointed with it, because from a self-pride point of view, that number of clean sheets isn’t good enough.”

After the two away games this week, the Reds are due to host promotion-chasing Bradford City in another all-Yorkshire clash on Saturday, April 18.

They then travel to Stevenage, Luton Town and Northampton Town in a week before completing their campaign at home to Stockport County on May 2.

Stevenage, Luton and Stockport are all in the promotion hunt while second-bottom Northampton look likely to be relegated before they face the Reds.