NO points, no panic just pain. They're holding their nerve for all they're worth at bottom of the table Barnsley.
"There's no crisis here," Oakwell striker Jon Macken asserted as the club headed towards tomorrow's home clash with Derby, Macken's former employers and another team struggling at the foot of the league.
"Don't get me wrong it hurts, every defeat is horrible and it takes days to get over but we aren't playing half bad. In the three league games we've played we should have got something. We've created chances, plenty of them and not taken enough of them and given away sloppy goals. It's a fine line between winning and not in this league. We just have to get over that line."
Macken, who turns 31 on September 7, moved on from Derby last season to re-launch his career in the Championship under manager Simon Davey, a one time team-mate at Preston.
He is a first pick player under Davey, having had a stop-start career at Pride Park where eventually manager Paul Jewell decided he was for sale.
And Macken is as surprised at seeing Barnsley without a win at this stage as he is seeing Derby in the doldrums.
"It's just like last season, anyone can beat anyone else on the day," Macken maintained. "It doesn't matter if you play in front of 20,000 or 10,000, the teams in this league are so close.
"The squad here is confident, it's still very early days. Like they say, the league takes shape around Christmas. The teams who pick up points in September, October and November can go on and have a good Christmas and then kick on in the second half of the season."
Macken found himself a solo striker in the 2-0 defeat at Birmingham City last Saturday. Davey set his team out with five at the back and four in midfield.
Macken wasn't complaining at the increased work-load. "You just play the best you can, we created a couple of chances but we'd given away goals. I'd like to have a few goal myself but I don't think I'm playing badly and the players around me and staff seem OK with it, so I'm happy."
Cryne stays calm on pointless beginning
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