Barnsley: Confident Reds set sights on eighth straight win

Victory away to promotion-chasing Gillingham this weekend would be the first time the club have won more than seven games on the spin since April 1955.

It’s been nearly 61 years since the Oakwell outfit strung together an impressive winning run that eclipsed their current winning run of seven games in a row.

And in their current rich vein of form, which has also seen the club go nine games unbeaten in all competitions, you’d probably be foolish to bet against them extending that run into double figures.

The last time the Reds won more than seven games in row was during a purple patch between March and April 1955 when they won 10 matches in succession the then Division 3 North.

Caretaker head coach Paul Heckingbottom and assistant head coach Tommy Wright guided the Reds to an impressive 3-0 win over Bury and former Reds’ boss David Flitcroft last weekend.

And it’s likely the duo will be in charge again this weekend with the club not in a rush to find a replacement for the departed Lee Johnson.

“We’ll take stock [of what’s happened], but I do believe it’s a team effort,” stressed Reds chief executive Ben Mansford.

“If Tommy and Paul continue to help the team and impress then they’ll give themselves every opportunity of knocking on our doors to see if they can secure their positions permanently.

“But it’s that old adage of one game at a time and remaining as one with the players involved is the single most important aim.”

Meanwhile, Barnsley season ticket holders can start buying their tickets for their eagerly-anticipated trip to Wembley at 8am next Monday February 15.

And then general sale tickets for supporters go on sale three days later at the same time a week today.

The Reds take on Oxford United in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final on Sunday April 1, kick-off 2.30pm. And the club have been given an initial allocation of 25,286 tickets as they go in search of their first silverware since winning promotion to the Championship a decade ago.