Barnsley: Paul Heckingbottom calls on Reds to learn from hammering at the hands of Nottingham Forest

The Reds’ defence looked assured as they kept successive clean sheets against Burton and Wigan respectively, before shipping five against Phillippe Montanier’s outfit.

The fantastic Forest frontline took advantage down the wings as Henri Lansbury bagged the first hat-trick of his career.

“I know it’s a steep learning curve but we have to learn because it’s a harsh league,” admitted Heckingbottom, the mastermind behind the Reds’ remarkable double last term in which they won promotion and the Football League trophy.

“The players we’re playing against have got good experience at this level and higher and they aren’t going to feel sorry for us.

“We weren’t at our best but we’ll learn from this game and move on, starting in next weekend’s match with Birmingham City.

“We gifted them the goals and effectively gifted them the game.

“Lots of things weren’t good enough, we went away from the game plan a little because we thought we were better than what we were when we had the ball.

“We pride ourselves on the basics, we know where we’ve come from, the players understand how hard they have to work to bridge that gap in terms of what’s in the other dressing room, the experience they’ve got or quality.

“I back these lads to go out there and beat them but they’ll not if they don’t get the basics right. It’s a reality check, that’s exactly what it is. That’s what we’ll use it as,”

Heckingbottom’s time at the helm at Oakwell has been largely successful, with a whole host of memorable moments.

But he has branded Saturday’s defeat in front of their faithful fans as one of the hardest to take in his managerial career so far.

He reflected: “It’s difficult to take this one, I’ll watch this back but this is more disappointing than the game against Wigan.

“We should have won that game, but we didn’t give Wigan anything, they defended for their lives and we just didn’t take our chances.”