Warne is determined to cure away day blues
Murphy’s sure Struber will return to Barnsley Tigers left me with no choice but to leave says sad Irvine
PROVIDING AN antidote to Rotherham United’s travelsickness at Championship level in 2020-21 is high on the to-do list for Paul Warne.
In their past two seasons in the second tier, the Millers have won just one away match in 46 attempts and taken just 13 points from a possible 138 available.
In the final analysis, those statistics are a big reason as to why the club were relegated and the
LITTLE KNOWN when he arrived on these shores in November, the name of Gerhard Struber is one which is now starting to resonate in the corridors of power at clubs in this country and further afield.
The Austrian’s feats in inspiring a remarkable relegation escapology act at Barnsley have put him firmly on the football map.
Just as players attract interest for their sterling feats, so do managers and head coaches.
The ex-Wolfsberger AC head coach is now back in his native Salzberg taking a well-deserved break, while also reflecting on his Reds future.
Away from friends and family, Struber made sacrifices for the Reds cause and admitted to being emotionally drained at the end of a tumultuous campaign on Wednesday evening.
With the new season beginning in just six-and-a-half weeks time, the 43-year-old has limited time to take stock. importance of starting to redress the balance is something the Millers chief is acutely aware of.
Warne admits that he and his players need to put pressure on themselves in that regard to improve those glaring numbers.
He said: “Maybe the pressure is not on us when we play a big team away from home, but we are going to have to put pressure on ourselves if we want to succeed.
“Although we did do well (in 2018-19), our away form killed us. We are going to have to put more
Given his achievements at Oakwell with a young and emerging squad of players, the devout hope of everyone connected with the club is that his story has several chapters more to run.
On Struber, contracted until June 2022, Barnsley chief executive officer Dane Murphy told The Yorkshire Post: “Gerhard is on a multi-year contract and is the leader of our group. Our players rallied behind him and our staff are extremely close knit.
“He is obviously going to gain some traction with the way we played towards the end of the year and how he was able to help and develop our young players and never once complaining and continuing to believe.
“Of course, he is going to garner a ton of interest. But he is our manager and is on a multi-year contract and we look forward to what he can do with this group next year in the Championship.
“The guy came to a new country and it (English) was not his first language. In his first term in English football, he never once complained. The pandemic came and he rarely saw his family – he has two young kids.
“The fact that he was able to pressure to get every last bit of energy and knowledge out of every player we have got.
“No football fans, especially ours, want a season where you feel like you are constantly fighting it. We want to try and play a way that will cause problems and pick up points.”
The absence of home supporters in grounds, certainly at the start of next season, is likely to be a double-edged sword for the Millers, whose parochial support at is something that they tap into. help our team persevere to stay in the Championship means he more than deserves a break for time to reflect and think. But we cannot wait to have him (back).”
Barnsley are understandably pausing for breath after those astonishing last-gasp events at Griffin Park which secured their Championship status in one of the greatest of all ‘Great Escape’ acts.
Wigan’s appeal against their 12-point deduction could yet throw a major spanner in the works, but Murphy remains confident that Barnsley will be second-tier by the time that football recommences on September 12.
He said: “The final table states we are a Championship club. I do not want to go into too much detail about an ongoing legal claim.
“But we are in a position where we stayed up and are preparing ourselves as a Championship on the future of Barnsley coach Gerhard Struber
The absence of home followers at a number of big-city clubs who they face will perhaps aid their cause in trying to pick up more points on the road.
Warne added: “There will not be such a home advantage (in 2021) but ironically in the Championship, we like playing at home, so it will probably level itself out.
“What has been surprising is in the Bundesliga, the percentage of home wins has gone down considerably. What I do think is that fans definitely help the players, club. We have every confidence on September 12 that we will be competing in the division.”
Survival in the Championship also has positive ramifications for Barnsley’s financial situation.
Amid challenging times which has seen the club grapple with new financial realities amid Covid-19, its significance cannot be down-played.
Barnsley’s last relegation in 2017-18 cost them between £6million and £7million and a return to third tier this time around would have represented an even harder blow, with jobs very much on the line.
Staying in this division provides a bit more security, even if these fiscal times remain unprecedented with the club having already lost between £600,000 to £700,000 in match-day revenue while having to fork out six-figures fees to pay for Covid-19 testing.
It will also facilitate the club in their bid to bring those furloughed members of staff back into the workplace in time.
On what staying up means from a financial perspective, Murphy continued: “It obviously has a serious impact on our financial but big clubs with big fanbases definitely get the decisions. Fact.
“The referees are only human, it is easier to agree with 40,000 people than 2,000 at the other end.
“But I do not want to play in front of empty crowds, I want to play in big atmospheres.
“It does not feel like we have really celebrated promotion yet, but the first time we have a sell out at New York for everybody in the town that will feel like the promotion.” outlook. Last time when we went down, it was between six and seven million in revenue that we lost.
“We are not out of the depths yet in terms of our finances because of Covid-19, but staying in the Championship goes a long way. The fact we were able to achieve this and keep the club above water in moving forward in the Championship is a testament to everyone.
“July was our trickiest month (financially), so staying in the Championship helps. The support of our fans in our community – in times when no-one knew what was next and what would be happening in their own personal lives – is tremendous.
“It is not a part of why we are in a better situation we are in July, but a massive part – because of the support of our fans and community around us.
“It was difficult at times because we had to put people on furlough and in positions which would have changed their normal daily life. I believe the club is firmly in the position where our staffing levels will remain the same. We will be able to maintain ourselves as a working group.”
PAUL WARNE:
FORMER HULL CITY vicecaptain Jackson Irvine has opened up on his ‘upsetting’ exit from the East Yorkshire club – and insists he felt as if he had little option but to depart.
Irvine and captain Eric Lichaj were among senior players who left the club last month, with their deals expiring on June 30.
Reports said that he and other players who left the club failed to agree a short-term contract extensions to feature in the season’s run-in.
On his departure, Irvine told The World Game: “I have read a lot of things over the past few weeks about negotiations falling through and these types of things, but there really were no negotiations.
“I am sure there will be people out there who will draw their own conclusions and still think I should have played on, with or without any kind of security.
“I had a tough call to make: do I play out the rest of the season with no security, or don’t I?
“I asked the club if I played and got badly injured would they then trigger that year (extension), so I would have a measure of security.
“They said they would not – so for me the risk was too great and I knew my time at the club was over.
“To have left in that way is upsetting.”
Bradford City have beaten off rival competition to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Elliot Watt for an undisclosed fee.
The Scotland Under-21 international has penned a two-year-deal and his arrival follows on from the capture of Callum Cooke as City step up preparations for next season.
Watt began his youth career at Preston before joining Wolves in 2016, making his senior debut two years later.
The playmaker spent the second half of last season on loan at Carlisle United, where he netted once in 14 appearances.
On joining Bradford, Watt said: “I am buzzing to be here and cannot wait to get going in preseason.
“From the minute I heard Bradford City was interested, it was straight ahead. I wanted to get the deal done.
“The size of the club speaks for itself and we should not really be in the division we are. I am here to work hard and help get this club where it deserves to be.”
The arrival of Preston-born Watt follows on from the signings of Billy Clarke, Levi Sutton and Dylan Mottley-Henry as the Bantams prepare for 2020-21.
Watt’s signing is subject to the relevant EFL and FA clearances.
He more than deserves a break for time to reflect and think