Barnsley: 'Our start to the season has been very underwhelming.'

Barnsley fell to yet another defeat last week after a last-minute Millwall winner at Oakwell sent the Reds into the Championship relegation zone for the first time in 12-months.

Not surprisingly, fans are becoming increasingly frustrated at the results, and particularly boss Markus Schopp.

Millwall defender Murray Wallace headed home in front of the travelling fans in the 89th minute with the home supporters venting their anger at the final whistle.

The loss condemned the Tykes to their third consecutive defeat with Schopp’s men not enjoying a victory in 9 games since their win over Coventry City in the second week of the season.

Much was expected of Schopp who had managed TSV Hartberg since 2018 and steered the club to a seventh-placed finish in the Austrian Bundesliga, but it appears the fans’ patience in their new boss might be wearing thin.

“Our start to the season has been very underwhelming and to be honest, quite embarrassing,” Breathe Barnsley tells FansBet.

“We expected to build on last season’s play-off finish, but losing our manager, captain and other vital assets has proven to be costly.

“The main mistake was appointing Markus as manager. His poor game management, confusing team selections, severe lack of identity and personality are all clear to see.

“He never seems to want to hold his hands up and take the blame at the end of a poor result whereas us as fans would much rather have honesty.

“The majority of fans have turned on him already, it’s not nice to see. Barnsley is a working-class town and we never want to see a manager struggle, but our results so far have been simply not good enough.

“If we don’t start getting more points on the board, things could get ugly for Markus.”

Last season was a successful campaign for Barnsley, with the club only narrowly missing out on promotion to the Premier League.

But the club has since had to come to terms with losing manager Valérien Ismaël and captain Alex Mowatt, who both departed in the summer to join West Brom.

“You’d be lying if you said you expected Barnsley to finish in the play-offs last season,” says @breathebarnsley.

“It was an amazing season which was under-shadowed by the absence of fans in the stadiums. After such a fantastic season, fans expected more of the same but have been merely disappointed by the lack of energy and passion from the manager.

“If results don’t improve I can only see the football club continuing to decline.

“There are a lot of things missing from last season though. Obviously, the key one is Valérien Ismaël.

“His ‘never say die’ attitude was the main reason for our unexpected success. Players such as Alex Mowatt and Daryl Dike thrived under his system.

“Val was never satisfied and always demanded 110% out of his players. When West Brom approached him it was seemingly too much to turn down and he departed Barnsley, taking Alex Mowatt with him.

“Schopp needs to take responsibility and give a clear game plan.

“We often look lost and isolated, a complete contrast of last season’s team. He also needs to develop a good relationship with both the players and the fans.

“Callum Brittain openly criticised the manager in a post-match press conference and it seems as though he has lost the faith of the dressing room.

“Something else that annoys the fanbase is when he doesn’t come over to clap the fans at the end of the game and instead, walks straight down the tunnel.

“If the board are to stick with Marcus, one of the first things he must do is to win back the support of the fans but to do this, results have to swiftly improve.”