CENTRE-BACK Mael de Gevigney admits that Barnsley fans ‘deserve better’ following a disappointing season which has left them just five points above the drop zone.
The 26-year-old has played in eight of the last nine games – a period which has seen the Reds pick up ten points from a possible 27.
He has been part of a Barnsley defence which has kept just two clean sheets in the league this season but has been in and out of the squad throughout the campaign.
The club had aspirations of making the play-offs this season but any hopes of reaching the top six have now fizzled out and the Reds are now looking over their shoulder rather than ahead of them. It was a similar situation last season which saw the club finish in mid-table and the Frenchman admits it has been another disappointing campaign.
He told the Chronicle: “We started really well this season.
“We were ambitious.
“We played well and we had good results at the beginning.
“And since that, I think we have just dropped a bit of the intensity.
“It’s a disappointing season again, honestly. The club is ambitious, the fans are ambitious.They deserve better results than we’ve had.
“I wish we could have done better but it is what it is. We’ve got seven games to finish the season to do the best and look forward for the next season.”
In those seven games, the Reds face four teams fighting for promotion and three trying to stay up in the third tier.
Mael said they are not looking behind them in the league and are instead looking to build positivity around the club.
“We want to win most games.
“Hopefully we can play well and make the fans happy and look forward for the next season.”
That starts with a South Yorkshire derby at Rotherham tomorrow.
Mael added: “Obviously, it’s not the best way to prepare for the game with these results.
“But we’ve got a few days to get ready for this game.
“It’s a South Yorkshire derby so it’s going to be a good game.
“We know it’s going to be a big fight because they’re fighting for relegation.
“We’re ready for it.”
He came off in the 1-1 draw at Burton bloodied having taken a blow from former Shaw Lane Aquaforce striker Jake Beesley, but admitted he wanted to play on Easter Monday.
There were doubts whether or not he would recover in time but he played the full 90 minutes in a bandage.
He said: “My head’s a bit sore but I wanted to play. I wanted to do my best to help the team.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result that we wanted.”
