Lee Johnson was 'disappointed' that Barnsley fell to last place in League One on Saturday but is taking heart from his players' response and the congested bottom section of the table.
The Reds are the lowest they have been in the English league structure since August 1979. They have won one of their last 11 league matches and lost the most games in the division with 12. Despite Conor Hourihane's last-minute equaliser against Sheffield United in the 12.15pm kick-off on Saturday, Barnsley slipped to the foot of the table after Crewe and Blackpool both won their 3pm matches.
"After getting the point in the manner that we did, to go bottom was disappointing for me personally," said Johnson, whose side are two points from safety. He added: "But then, when I looked at it, I saw that the results grouped a few clubs together and, if we beat Colchester next week (December 12), we will be out of the bottom four and then our mindset will change. "Things change all the time and, if we get three or four wins, we will be looking the other way (up the table).
"We know we can compete in every game in League One. "Our last four or five performances have shown that players are fighting for the shirt. I haven't seen any disappointment about being bottom of the league from the players in training. I don't know whether that is a bad thing and that they should have the hump and be kicking each other or whether it's a good thing because they realise we are performing better now and have the belief that we are going to get out of it." J
ohnson was asked about the sacking of Dean Saunders at Chesterfield this week despite Barnsley's near neighbours being outside the relegation zone. Saunders was dismissed after a four-game losing run while Johnson survived eight successive league defeats.
"It's difficult for me to talk about another club because I don't know the circumstances, the budget or the morale. All I will say is that, at Barnsley, the morale is still good. I think people know that it is a transition phase. We're going through a three-phase process. The first phase was to get the players out who were on big wages and needed to move on, then the second phase was getting new players in, then the third is the January transfer window and to kick on from there. If I can get to phase three I am confident we will be further up the division.
"We're disappointed with where we are and, let's not sugarcoat it, some might say I am lucky to be in a job. People within the club have been very supportive and they know mistakes have been made across the board. In my opinion, you don't want another new manager coming in with different ideas and lots of chopping and changing."
