Darrell Clarke thought there was a foul in the build-up to the equaliser in Barnsley’s 2-1 home loss to Huddersfield but admitted the second half performance was: ‘nowhere near the level we need to be at and that’s a regular occurrence.’
Jon Russell put the Reds in front with a superb goal but they were second best for most of the game and conceded twice in three minutes either side of the hour mark.
Clarke said: “I am angry but I have to be careful because I don’t want to throw everything away.
“I am the boss, I take responsibility and accountability.
“Today, in the second half in particular, was nowhere near the level we need to be at and that’s a regular occurrence.
“I say to the players, don’t go through your career not getting promoted or having that feeling. To do that, you have to be it at day and day out.
“Our performance changed so much within minutes. There’s a lack of experience and we’re missing Luca Connell, Adam Phillips and Marc Roberts. Others need to step up.
“We never got going in the second half. We should be locked down from a free-kick and and they counter and score.
“The second goal, I’m speechless. People have jobs to do and they didn’t do them.”
Asked if there was a foul on Stephen Humphrys in the build-up to the leveller, he said: “I think so. I don’t want to pick up a fine from what I say about officials. He’s (referee David Rock) killed me before
“I lost my job (at Port Vale) after he managed a game at Lincoln. There was a red card rescinded but I got the sack on the Monday. I didn’t even get an apology, so there is history there.
“But we can’t concede from our free-kick like that, whether it’s a foul or not.”
There were boos at the end of the match. Clarke said: “Fans are very upset and I feel their frustration and pain.
“It’s my job to make sure I get the players ready for next Saturday.
“Sometimes we go through a tough period. It’s a transitional period, we’re getting players up to speed and there are a lot of things stopping us from turning performances into results.
“I love my job and I want to bring success to the club but we’re not doing that at the moment.”
Asked if he still believed the Reds could bridge the seven-point gap to the top six, Clarke said: “I think there are six or seven players in the group, the rest we have got to get them up to that level. That’s where we are at.
“We are trying to transition in the transfer window and build in the right direction. It doesn’t seem like that the moment because we are not winning.
“Sometimes as a head coach you have these periods but you've got to to stick with it and believe in your methods which have had success. I believe I will have success here but it might take a bit longer than I would have hoped.”
Adam Phillips missed the game as his partner is expected to give birth this weekend while Luca Connell was injured.
Clarke said: “Luca took a massive bad whack on his foot. He had a CT scan and got the all clear. He couldn’t participate but we are hoping he will be back for next week.”
