Case of deja vu for Frieser at history-making Reds
DOMINIK FRIESER is perhaps the one person who is not necessarily surprised at what Valerien Ismael is achieving at Barnsley.
The forward has been here before, to a degree, having been part of an LASK Linz line-up who won seven games in a row during a memorable campaign in the Austrian Bundesliga last term.
The Graz-born player, 27, is now sampling a similar streak at Barnsley, with the club having registered club history by winning six successive games in one season by virtue of Wednesday’s outstanding victory at QPR.
For Frieser, it is all power to Ismael, who is producing one of the EFL stories of the season at Oakwell, having propelled Barnsley from a relegation fight to a play-off battle, with a number of high-flying sides entitled to be wary.
Frieser said: “It is not a surprise for me as I know the gaffer from the past year and know his style of football and mindset and he is so good for our group and the young players and is a respected person.
“When he speaks, everyone is quiet and we do what he wants for us and it works.
“His mentality is unbelievable and you can feel this and it comes over to the players on the pitch and we have shown this.
“I looked on Transfermarkt and we won lots of games in a row I think (last season at LASK). It sounds crazy to do this in the Championship, but we are in a good way.
“It is a little bit similar (at Barnsley). The important thing is, as a team, that everyone likes the style of this football and likes to press and at the moment, everyone likes to play this style of football. This is the important thing.”
Frieser has revealed that he has been pumping iron and hitting the gym increasingly in the past month to get himself stronger physically for the run-in.
The hard graft is certainly paying off, with Barnsley’s fitness and relentless pressing ethic having been pronounced during their outstanding recent sequence of form.
He added: “For me, in the last month, I have gone to the fitness room very much because I recognise in this league, it is more than football.
“Physically, you have to be a little bit better and I have started to change this and it is getting better and better now in the games.”