Barnsley chief Struber expects ‘surprise’ team to fall through the Championship trapdoor
BARNSLEY HEAD coach Gerhard Struber believes that a ‘surprise’ team will fall into the Championship relegation picture and go down at the end of the season.
The Oakwell outfit, who have boosted their hopes of staging a ‘Great Escape’ act to stave off the drop following successive wins over Fulham and Middlesbrough, visit a Hull side who are one of several clubs looking over their shoulders.
The Tigers head into the game on the back of a eight-game winless Championship streak stretching back to New Year’s Day, with Grant McCann’s side having picked up two points from the last 24 available.
Fellow Yorkshire sides Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday are also in dire form.
Struber said: “For many weeks, I had a talk about which teams are in relegation (trouble). Right now, you see the league is so difficult. So many teams have problems to constantly bring a good performance.
“I think, in the end, we will maybe have a big surprise as to which club goes down. Maybe for many clubs around the relegation zone, it is absolutely a new situation with pressure.
“For Middlesbrough, it is a completely new situation. Also Huddersfield have problems to bring a good performance constantly.
“They are big clubs and for us, it is a normal situation. I hope we can change our situation.
“Hull is not in the biggest form. But our duty is that they stay in this form after this game.
“We must play with high intensity and then this is the biggest problem for Hull.
“This is what I expect from my boys.”
Despite his side’s recent form which have coincided with an injury crisis and the sale of star assets Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki, Tigers head coach Grant McCann remains confident that his side will turn a corner shortly, aided by the fact that the club’s congested treatment room is showing signs of easing.
On his message to supporters, who have not seen their side win on home soil since December, McCann said: “Stick with us. It is not ideal, but let’s have a look at where we are at the end of the season.
“We have got people coming back to fitness and the group is desperate to turn the corner.
“We just need to stay calm and trust in what we are doing. We’ve got full belief in this changing room and in our own selves that we can get that win and kick on.
“You know where we have been with the injuries we’ve had, it has not been good.
“It seems like everything came at the one time. But I think the performance at Preston showed me we have got a good group.”
Despite the fact that Hull’s options are diminished and that Bowen and Grosicki have moved onto pastures new, Struber expects Hull to still pose problems.
He said: “It is a different team. For them to lose two big players is a small advantage for us. But other good players play for Hull, especially with set-pieces; they play very well with big players and players who can make special problems in the air.”
Last six games: Hull LLDLDL; Barnsley LLDLWW.
Last game: Hull 1 Barnsley 1, February 27, 2018; Championship.