Nottingham Forest vs Barnsley: Poya Asbaghi says Tykes must not feel sorry for themselves

The Championship strugglers, who are seven points from safety, travel to Nottingham Forest on Monday (3pm kick-off) looking for their first win in six attempts since Asbaghi took charge in late November.

The Tykes are without a win in their last nine matches overall and have drawn three and lost the same number of games under their new boss so far.

Speaking ahead of the clash, the former Sweden Under-21 head coach said: “Of course, you want to win as a football coach, as a player and as a fan. The will of winning a football game is just as high for the players as it is the fans and me, but you know that you have to continue working hard and not wait for something to just happen.

“You have to make sure that you feel, as a coach, that you are preparing the team as good as possible. When you do that in the long run, the table doesn’t lie – it can lie from one game to another, but in the long run, you get what you deserve.

“That’s everything we can focus on; not to feel sorry for ourselves and letting the frustrations take over, instead to be 100 per cent focused on the task.”

Meanwhile, former Barnsley loanee Daryl Dike has linked up with Valerien Ismael at West Brom.

The USA international scored nine goals in 19 Championship appearances for the Reds last season as they reached the play-off semi-final and has signed a four-and-a-half year deal.