Paul Heckingbottom has been able to win the manager of the month award within one month of his arrival at Barnsley.
He was appointed as the manager only in February, but the club was able to pick up an astonishing 13 points from just six matches in March. A solitary 2-0 defeat against Southend was the only blemish for the club during this period. This has helped Barnsley move closer towards the play-off places. The club had to go through a period of uncertainty after former manager Lee Johnson was given the permission to talk with Bristol City.
Johnson ended up leaving for the Championship club, thus leaving Barnsley’s promotion hopes in tatters. The arrival ofHeckingbottom has been met with no reduction in performances and the club are now only four points behind the sixth placed Millwall. There is every chance that this gap will be reduced even further if Barnsley win their game in hand.Heckingbottom said that it was a team effort to put together this run of form. He has credited the players for managing to continue the winning run despite several injuries affecting the squad in the 2015-16 campaign. During the month of March, Barnsley kept four clean sheets and this may be the basis behind the good form.
“It’s great to win but great for the team to win it. The form’s been good and we’ve managed to sustain it all year in 2016. To win is a credit to the players and coaching staff, and the work we’ve been putting in to maintain a good run of form. We’ve been in the mix in terms of form and top of the form table. We’ve had lots of players missing and players dipping in and out of the team for different reasons, so it’s been a real squad effort,” saidHeckingbottom.