FANS RAGE AS COTT FAILS T0 STOP THE ROT
Clarke: It’s my career highlight.. but it could have been better
MUCH-TRAVELLED striker Leon Clarke is loving life at the Lane.
MOTM LEON CLARKE (SHEFF UTD) ANGRY BLUES fans told Birmingham players they were not fit to wear the shirt after Barnsley nudged Steve Cotterill’s strugglers into the drop zone.
Goals from Tom Bradshaw and Zeki Fryers were enough for Barnsley to inflict a tenth defeat in 16 league games on the visitors.
And Cotterill (above), who replaced Harry Redknapp as boss five games ago, refused to have a pop back.
He said: “Whatever has been sung, whatever has been chanted, I won’t ever criticise our fans, just like I don’t criticise my players.
“You have to take it, it’s not nice. We don’t want to have that, but it’s a big club with big expectations.
“I won’t hide from any of that because when you get it right with a big club it really takes off.
“It’s not just been like that this season, it’s been at the football club a little while now and that’s what makes the job tough at the moment. “But I’m tough enough to do it.” Barnsley, who have signed teenage Nigerian striker Victor Adeboyejo on a three-year deal, are now seven points clear of the drop zone.
Boss Paul Heckingbottom was delighted his players had been rewarded for their efforts.
He said: “You get belief from wins. Barring a couple of games this season our performances have been really good. But when you’re not getting the results confidence dwindles.
“So when the wins come along, you keep doing the right things and that belief builds within.
“It’s been three months and some of these lads didn’t arrive until the end of August.”