Darrell Clarke rued Barnsley’s inability to take their chances in a 0-0 home draw with lowly Burton Albion which extended their winless run to four games.
Although they stopped a run of three straight losses, it was a tough day at Oakwell as the Reds could not make their possession dominance count.
Clarke told the Chronicle: “There were enough opportunities to score two or three but we didn’t.
“Jon Russell has a good chance, DKD (Davis Keillor-Dunn) goes on his left when he maybe should have gone with his right, Kyran Lofthouse had a great chance.
“It’s a been a bit of rinse and repeat and goals change games. We needed to take the lead because the crowd get edgy then the boys and me get a bit of stick.”
He added: “Burton were not here to play a high tempo game. They were taking their time over everything and it’s hard to get energy in a game like that. We were a little bit loose and slow with our build.
“Second half we rectified that and got more tempo. We worked with the referee to speed things up.”
Barnsley fans booed at the final whistle. Clarke said: “It’s understandable. I am never going to moan about supporters. It’s just as frustrating for myself and staff when we should win.
“We have to stick together and work hard. I am a great believer in the harder you work, the more rewards you get. It’s a tough time – wins three losses and a draw after four wins. We can’t keep our consistency but there plenty of points to play for.”
There were also boos when Kelechi Nwakali was taken off for Luca Connell who had been benched.
“I just thought Kelechi was getting leggy. He’s had a fantastic game. Jon Russell and Adam Phillips have scored a lot of goals this season. It was a natural thing to get a bit of energy on. I am not bringing a bad player on in Luca am I? He’s been tremendous over a period of time. He’s lacking form but he’ll come good. We have four very good midfielders for three positions. I just thought Kelechi ran out of steam.”
Clarke said there had been no approach from Swansea for Connell and that Barnsley are ‘desperate’ for strikers by Monday’s transfer deadline.
“We will see what Monday brings. Hopefully it brings incomings and good news to give us the strength we need in the right areas. By Tuesday I will know my squad for the season.”
Barnsley kept a fifth clean sheet of the season, with debutant Joe Gauci in goal. Clarke said: “I am pleased with the clean sheet. Joe had a really strong debut and he was aggressive from crosses which we have been lacking a little bit.”
