DARRELL Clarke is acting as psychologist as well as head coach as he attempts to reduce the gap between Barnsley’s away and home form while they ‘try to come again’ into the promotion mix.

The Reds are tenth in League One, four points off the top six play-off places – six closer than they were at the start of the week. They won 1-0 at local rivals Rotherham United on Saturday – ending a six-game winless run – then won 2-1 at Northampton Town on Tuesday.

They are now due to host mid-table Lincoln City tomorrow then make another long midweek trip to play-off hopefuls Charlton Athletic on Tuesday.

One of the main themes of this season has been the baffling difference between Barnsley’s impressive form away from home and their disappointing results at Oakwell.

The two wins on the road this week took them to ten in the league this season – with no team in English football winning more this season.

They have 31 points from 17 away games, the second highest tally in the division, while they are closing in on the club record of 12 league wins on their travels that they equalled last season.

But they have the 19th best home record in the division with 18 points from 16 games and have only won four of 22 league games at Oakwell across more than a year.

Clarke told the Chronicle: “Ten away wins should put us a lot higher in the division. We have seven home games out of 13 now and we want to get as many wins as we possibly can, home and away.”

The head coach has said the home form is a ‘mental thing’ consistently.

Asked if they had worked with a sports psychologist to solve the problem, Clarke told the Chronicle: “For me, psychology is part of my job. The manager has to be the psychologist.

“We’ve discussed it but some players have been here two years, some six months, and some three weeks.

“The home form has been bad for a period of time.

“It’s making sure they go out and play with confidence, express themselves and don’t get caught in the moments.

“If you give the ball away, don’t let it affect you for five minutes.

“If you make an error, get it out of your head straight away.

“There will be negativity and anxiety if we’re not winning at home. Players have to get their minds round that.

“Players nowadays are a little bit soft. They have to get used to producing under pressure.

“I have seen world beaters on the training pitch or under 21 games with no fans. When pressure comes in, players can sometimes go under. It’s my job to make sure they stay positive.

“The shirt wears heavy, none more so than at home. But they have to handle it. I have said before that we have a lack of experience and a lack of players with experience of promotions in the squad.”

On the Reds’ promotion chances, Clarke said: “We’re coming down to the business end of the season.

“We’ve put back to back wins together and need to win the next one. If you put yourself in the mix with ten games to play, anything can happen. We’re well aware we are chasing and we’re very disappointed we had that six-game run because I thought it was an opportunity as a club to kick on. We didn’t do that but we’re trying to come again.”

Asked if the two wins this week had made the mood better around the club, Clarke said: “No. Winning is good and you have to find ways to win.

“We’ve been resilient this week.

“But I want better performances because, to get where we need to get to, performances have to be consistently good. We have to go get better to get into the top six. It’s as simple as that.”