Barnsley: Reds boss Heckingbottom wary of Bury response

Heckingbottom’s side travel to Gigg Lane with a spring in their step after the delight of a derby-day victory over Doncaster on Saturday.

The Reds have been beaten just once in 11 matches but face a tough test against former boss David Flitcroft’s Shakers, who have recorded back-to-back wins since being battered 6-0 by Coventry City.

And Heckingbottom is well aware that Bury will be looking to hit back at Barnsley with their new-found impetus this evening.

“They’ll take great confidence from the last two games,” he warned. “They hit rock bottom against Coventry but then they’ve turned a corner and come back.

“They’ll want to beat us and put that [3-0 defeat] right, and the fact they’ve had two good results since will help them.”

Heckingbottom has seen first hand the improvements that Bury have made, witnessing their hard-fought 1-0 win at home to Sheffield United.

“You could see they’ve done a lot of work out of possession in terms of stopping chances and shots on goal,” he added.

“They work their socks off. They’ve made changes to their team and it’s paid off with two good results. They’re a difficult team to play against and we have to be ready to deal with that.”

The Reds will be without full-back Aidy White who sustained a suspected ankle ligament injury in the victory over Doncaster at the weekend.

The 24-year-old was stretchered off and taken to hospital after a challenge by Rovers’ Conor Grant, and Heckingbottom revealed it could be a lengthy spell on the sidelines for the former Leeds and Rotherham man.

“He went straight to hospital and had an x-ray which showed nothing conclusive other than that there was no immediate break that could be seen, so we’re lucky in that respect,” he said.

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