MATTY Craig says Barnsley’s players need to ‘take more pride in what we do’ as they look to improve on their stuttering early season performances.

The 21-year-old joined in the summer on a season-long loan from Premier League Tottenham Hotspur and has started eight of the Reds’ nine league games this season, playing mainly in a holding midfield role.

Darrell Clarke’s side are currently seventh in League One with 15 points from nine games but the head coach has bemoaned the lack of quality and positivity in recent displays.

Craig told the Chronicle: “We’re still searching for the levels we want to hit.

“The character we showed to come back twice against Wycombe (a 2-2 home draw in midweek) is still a positive we can take. But there is definitely a lot to work on. We can probably help each other more in possession and individually take more pride in what we do in terms of retaining the ball and showing the quality the manger wants.

“We’ve picked up an OK number of points. Not as many as we wanted to in an ideal world. You would hope the more games the team plays together, it will click more and look more fluid.”

Craig is playing in League One for the first time after impressing in League Two last season with Doncaster Rovers.

“I think I have been OK so far. There are things you want to work on and improve on and hopefully show more of. I just trying to keep building on it.

“There is a step up when you first come up to League One and you have to adjust quickly because, if you don’t, you won’t play. There are a lot of good midfielders here and that pushes you to do as well as possible.”