Barnsley: Mike Bahre earned Reds captaincy

The winger, who turned his loan move from Hannover into a permanent deal over the summer, was awarded the Reds captaincy ahead of the season opener against Fulham.

Stendel and the coaching staff had decided last week but kept it under wraps until handing the teamsheet in against the Cottagers.

It was perhaps a surprise for the German to get it over Alex Mowatt, but Stendel said the 23-year-old deserved it for his efforts as one of the senior players during pre-season.

“Mike proved in the last few weeks that he’s got more responsibility in our squad,” Stendel said. “He’s only been here for a year, but he’s an experienced player and one of our key players.”

Meanwhile, Dale Tonge has revealed he has enjoyed his first summer as a first-team coach.

Tonge got the gig on a permanent basis after stepping up last January following Andreas Winkler's defection to Huddersfield.

“It was a great learning curve for me, this summer has been great, getting involved in stuff behind the scenes in terms of player recruitment, speaking to a lot of agents,” Tonge said. “I have done that before as a player but as a coach that makes it a little bit more different. I

“It is something that I have loved, the gaffer has given me a broad brief where he wants me to go out, he knows I have an understanding of this league and the players at this level. The gaffer has given me some really good advice.”