Barnsley: Gerhard Struber wants to help new defender to settle into Oakwell

The Austrian defender made his Reds debut less than 24 hours after following his boss from Wolfsberger in the 4-2 FA Cup loss at Portsmouth.

The 29-year-old joined on Friday for an undisclosed fee on a deal running until 2021.

He will not have many tougher encounters than the visit to Fratton Park though.

“It was a difficult first game, the opponents were very quick and physical in the air too,” Struber said.

“We will look to work and communicate with him and the rest of the players over the next week.

“We have quite a few days now to work on our energy levels and our positioning, which is good.

“I think this defeat will give us a kick to work even harder in training next week.”

Struber was desperate to add some experience to his defence and thinks his former general from Austria will fit the bill.

“I know a lot about Michael and he will be great for the team. He is exactly the player we need.

“He has been captain at Wolfsberger AC for a long time and has plenty of first team experience at a good level.”

The Reds will be following events in the Championship closely this evening, hoping not to see the gap between them and safety extended beyond the current five points.

Struber's men do not play tonight as they brought their recent fixture with Preston forward.