AMERICAN centre-back Donovan Pines admits he’s glad to be back in the first team equation after a spell on the bench but knows Barnsley need to do better if they’re to get ‘where they need to be’.

Pines made his first start on Saturday against Birmingham City since a 2-0 win away at Shrewsbury on October 26.

He replaced the injured Josh Earl – and the 26-year-old said he found out he was starting just hours before kick-off.

He said: “I got the call on Friday night a 8pm that I was starting.

“I was making dinner and just chilling.

“You’ve always got to be ready.

“You’ve got to prepare the right way and I wanted to show off the best I could.

“I want to better the team but I’ve got to keep learning and improve my game and get the team where it needs to be.”

Having been out of the starting 11 for six weeks, Pines admits that he’s glad to finally be back.

“I’m excited to be back and playing the game that I love,” he added.

“It’s really good to gel with the centre-backs and the midfield.

“I’ve got to keep trying, keep helping the team and staying positive with the guys.

“Hopefully I can get some more work down the line.”

The Reds are now without a win in six since November’s 2-0 win over neighbours Rotherham United.

Pines says the side need to get over the ‘hump’ they currently find themselves in. He added: “It’s a learning curve. Each game we’re playing against good opposition and I feel like we’re faring well against them.

“We’re competing so that’s good.

“We should take more positives and less negatives and just keep working on what we’re good at. Hopefully we’ll get over the hump. We have to go in with a better mentality over the next couple of weeks. I’m sure everyone is working hard. We need to hold everyone accountable and, if we can do that, we will come together as a group and hopefuly deliver something special.”