Barnsley: First team chances please loanee Matty James

The central midfielder joined the ranks at Oakwell on a short-term deal at the back end of last month’s transfer window.

The 25-year-old missed the entirety of Leicester City’s Premier League triumph last term after rupturing the anterior ligament in his knee the season before.

However, James has been fighting to reach optimum fitness and he played three games in the space of seven days for the Reds last week.

After cramping towards the end of his debut against rivals Rotherham United, he came off the bench for the second half against Wolverhampton Wanderers before playing the full 90 minutes last time out against Preston North End.

His positioning has been first class and he always looks to have time on the ball.

“For me personally it’s amazing, I am really happy to be playing first team football again,” admitted James. “To get three games in a week is really good.

“It has taken its toll a little bit but I am now excited to get another weeks training and go to Reading away.

“I was a bit worse for wear on Tuesday night but I recovered and I will make sure everything is done right again my recovery to go again when we train this week.”

The Foxes’ loanee was one of five additions to Paul Heckingbottom’s squad in January.

Heckingbottom now has the challenge of getting the newbies singing off the same hymn sheet as the rest of the squad.

And James believes it will take a bit of time before the Reds reach their full potential with their new-look squad.

He added: “There are a couple of players in the team who haven’t played in a while.

“There are also a couple who have just come in so we need to gel in certain areas which will take time.

“But, we have shown some good resilience in our few games together and hopefully we can continue to start getting better results both home and away.”