BARNSLEY will look to move well clear of relegation trouble with a win at seemingly doomed near neighbours Rotherham United from 3pm on Saturday.
The Millers are 22nd, 11 points adrift of safety, with six games to play, and 14 behind the Reds.
They cannot be mathematically relegated on Saturday but are almost certain to drop into the fourth tier.
They are winless in seven league games, not scoring in the last four.
Matt Hamshaw was sacked last month and replaced by Lee Clark, the former Birmingham and Huddersfield boss whose last job in England was with non-league Blyth Spartans in 2020 after which he managed in Sudan and Oman.
He lost his opening game 3-0 at leaders Lincoln then drew 0-0 at home to another promotion-chaser Stevenage before losing 1-0 at bottom club Port Vale on Tuesday.
Rotherham are unbeaten in four home games – beating Plymouth then drawing with Mansfield, Bolton and Stevenage – while Barnsley have won two of their last 16 away games.
Head coach Conor Hourihane told the Chronicle: “We have to obviously fully respect what we’ve seen over the last three games. They’ve played Lincoln away, which is definitely a tough game for anyone.
“They’ve had Stevenage at home, and I was at the Port Vale game the other night. They’re playing a back four and they had a lot of attackers on the pitch, with two wingers and two strikers or a ten and a striker. So, they’re still going all out to win games of football.
“It’s one that we need to be fully, fully ready for. We have to have the right mentality heading into the weekend.
“I want to give our fans something to shout about in the Yorkshire derby.
“I think we haven’t given enough performances or results to the fans over this last period of games. So my hope is to put in a proper performance on Saturday at Rotherham and to give our fans something to smile about.”
Midfielder Josh Benson, who spent four years with Barnsley before being released last summer, has made 23 Millers appearances this season including in both games this week.
Rotherham won 1-0 at Oakwell in October, a first victory in the fixture since 1982 during which time they played 14 times, with the Reds winning the previous seven.
Barnsley beat them 2-1 at Oakwell in the EFL Cup in August.
On Tuesday, Barnsley visit Port Vale from 7.45pm.
The Staffordshire club are bottom, 14 points adrift of safety but they cannot mathematically be relegated by Barnsley in midweek.
Vale are the lowest scorers in the division with 30 goals.
They lost 7-0 at Premier League giants Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final – having beaten top flight Sunderland in the previous round – on Saturday then won against Rotherham.
They do not play on Saturday – due to scheduled opponents Stockport being in the EFL Trophy final – so Tuesday’s game is their first of seven in 18 days including one 48 hours later at Peterborough.
Vale won 2-0 at Oakwell in September then thrashed the Reds 5-0 in the EFL Trophy in Burslem in December.
They then sacked former Reds defender Darren Moore in December – with ex-Oakwell stalwart Martin Devaney also leaving after a stint as assistant – and brought in former Northampton boss Jon Brady.
Their top-scorer is still ex-Red Devante Cole despite him moving to Luton in January while their goalkeeper Joe Gauci spent the second half of last season at Oakwell on loan from Aston Villa.
On facing two sides on the brink of relegation, Hourihane said: “First and foremost, regardless of wherever anyone is in the league, you have to have the right mindset to go into any game of football.
“We have to scrap, we have to fight, we have to win our duels, we have to come out with the ball and then show the bit of quality that we have to hopefully get the right results below. We have to match the intensity, respect the opposition, and respect where they are in the league. But they’re fighting for their lives and it’s something that we need to stand up for and be ready for.”
