Luca happy to be in and out

LUCA Connell accepts being in and out of Michael Duff’s Barnsley team.

The former Bolton and Celtic midfielder was one of the Reds’ stand-out players in pre-season but, after starting the opening day loss at Plymouth, he was dropped for the following game against Michael Duff’s former side Cheltenham Town. He admits the head coach made the right call.

“You could ask any player in the world, they wouldn’t want to ever be out of the team,” said Connell, who has since started twice.

“But if you look at Cheltenham, the decision the gaffer made to go a bit more attacking, it worked.

“He chose to put Luke Thomas in and he was the best player on the pitch that day.

“So it was a good decision and he scored the goal as well which is always a good thing.”

The 21-year-old says he is loving playing in League One and is relishing the chance to get minutes – something he has lacked in the last few years. He added: “I’m really enjoying it. “I think it’s been good, there’s a great group of lads. The gaffer has got us playing well so we’re looking forward to carrying that on.”