Barnsley midfielder Stephen Dawson says he has let his manager down by getting sent off against Charlton but does not think he deserved the red card.

The 27-year-old Irishman does not regret making the sliding tackle on Charlton's Yann Kermorgant when the Reds were four goals down in a game they eventually lost 6-0 and says he would never change his game whatever the scoreline.

Dawson, who is one game into a three-match ban, told the Chronicle: "I will make tackles like that if we are 4-0 down or 4-0 up.  People might say that I should think about the scoreline but I can't change the way I play or the person I am.

"I have watched it a couple of hundred times and I don't think it was a red card. A couple of years ago that would have been a perfectly good tackle but you see a lot of players sent off for those kind of tackles now. I respect the ref's decision but I think it was harsh on me. I made contact with the ball. I apologised to the player after the match."

Dawson also said sorry to Reds boss David Flitcroft in an emotional phonecall during his journey home on Saturday. He said: "I apologised to Flicker because I felt like I had let him down. "I owe him and Hilly (previous manager Keith Hill) so much for bringing me to this club when no other Championship team wanted me. Saturday was a really bad day all round. To lose in the manner that we did was not acceptable. We let everybody down."

Dawson will miss the games against Nottingham Forest and Hull but will back for the last match of the season at Huddersfield.