COREY O’Keeffe says Barnsley ‘can’t drop our heads’ as they look to cut down the ten-point gap between them and the top six which he believes they can do.

The Reds have spent most of the season in League One’s top six but are now 11th after a run of one point from the last six matches.

O’Keeffe told the Chronicle: “We’ve been in and around the play-offs and now we’ve dropped out but we can’t drop our heads. Ten points seems a lot but in football it’s a few wins for us and a couple of losses for another team.

“That’s our goal.

“We are just going to tick off games as they come, try to win as many as we can and see where we are at the end.

“I have been down there in leagues, fighting to stay up on the last day of the season. This is different.

“Everyone is on the same level.

“We know what we have got to do which is win games.”

O’Keeffe has started Barnsley’s last 20 games in all competitions, having been in and out of the side in the early months under Darrell Clarke.

The wing-back has seven assists this season in the league, the second most in the division, while he also set up two goals in the FA Cup.

He has not scored in 49 appearances since the 4-2 win at Wycombe Wanderers on March 2 second year, which was his third goal of last season.

He has had just one shot on target this campaign – at home to former club Birmingham City in December – and six in total, while his ‘expected goals’ for the season is 0.2.

O’Keeffe has put in 166 crosses this season compared to 74 in the whole of last season.

“Hopefully a goal comes soon. Anything I can do to help the season, whether that’s defending better or goals and assists, I will do.

“I have had a different role.

“I haven’t had as many shots this season but I have put a lot more crosses in.

“That’s just how we play now.

“Hopefully I can get more goal-scoring opportunities this season.

“But, if I just keep chipping away with assists, I am happy.”

Barnsley have conceded two goals in four minutes in each of their last two games.

O’Keeffe said: “As a team we need to react better.

“When one goal goes in, we need to be straight back on it. But we’ve looked at it and hopefully we can work on it.”

The Reds are now due to visit local rivals Rotherham United on Saturday.

O’Keeffe said: “We need to show our fans we are still up for the fight. If we go and beat Rotherham in a derby then everything looks different.”