Morais moves quickly to turn team’s attention to next game
JUST TEN games into his maiden Championship odyssey he may be, but Barnsley head coach Jose Morais has learned quickly the importance of not dwelling upon any one result for too long.
It is a wise philosophy given the division’s notoriously frenetic schedule and ability to soon transform the complexion of a week by virtue of the next result.
In that vein, Morais has turned his thoughts quickly to Saturday’s huge relegation six-pointer with Bolton Wanderers – the side who are one place and two points above the third-from-bottom Reds – after Tuesday’s narrow 1-0 loss at Ipswich Town.
On a midweek night when Barnsley’s immediate relegation rivals of Wanderers, Birmingham City and Reading also suffered defeats, Morais refused to view the evening as an opportunity lost and is plainly only interested in what lies ahead.
Morais said: “We are thinking about us first and after our result, we can say, at the worst, it was good that others did not win also.
“But what we wanted was to make points and if drawing was not the result we were looking for, then losing definitely was not.
“But this is the league, which is competitive to the end. We need to move on and look for the next game.”
The Reds will monitor Zeki Fryers after he came off with a foot injury at Portman Road.
Midfielder George Moncur will also be assessed after missing the game due to sickness.
Meanwhile, Morais admitted that fatigue may have been a factor in his side’s midweek performance following their physically and mentally draining weekend-derby win over Sheffield United.
“In some players, I could feel (that)”, Morais added.
“But the others recovered in a good way. But sometimes I understand that fatigue can make a player not make the best decisions.”