A trip to his former club Oldham Athletic adds extra intensity to the Reds' search for their first league victory since September, says head coach Lee Johnson.

Johnson managed the Latics for 103 games in a two-year spell before moving to Oakwell in February. He returned three weeks later for a 3-1 success in which he was subjected to plenty of abuse from the home fans but he hopes the hostility has faded now.

"It being Oldham just adds that bit of extra spice to it," said Johnson.

"It is ironic that it is our next game but football throws these things up. I might have to get my shield up and have a couple of bodyguards.

"But I hope it has died down a bit because it was harsh last time. The move was not as cloak and dagger as people made out. It was probably the most amicable moving of a manager in football history in terms of the behaviour of myself and the two clubs.

"Some of the Oldham fans obviously think that I have done the dirty on them which is completely untrue. I should maybe take it as a compliment that the Oldham fans want me to fail so badly.  There's always a pantomime baddy in football and any stick aimed at me will take it away from the players.

"I don't hold any grudges against Oldham. They were brilliant with me and I really enjoyed my time there. It's not about me. It's about the players betting a result."

The win at Oldham in March was the last of a six-game run of victories but Johnson has been successful in just five of his next 27 league games, losing 14. Athletic have won five of their 31 league games and had three managers in the nine months since Johnson left.

Dean Holden, who Johnson brought to the club as a coach, took over as caretaker until the end of last season then was replaced in the summer by Darren Kelly who was sacked a month into this campaign after winning one of nine. Former England international David Dunn was then named manager and has overseen 12 games which have brought three wins, seven draws and two defeats.

Only teams in the top five have lost fewer league games than the Latics but they have the joint fewest wins. They have drawn the most games in the Football League with ten, seven of which were away from home.

While the Reds have the worst away record in League One with just four points from their eight games, tomorrow's hosts are unbeaten in their nine league away games this season. Oldham registered their second away win of the campaign on Saturday with a 2-1 success at Chesterfield.

They also won 2-0 at home to League Two Mansfield in their FA Cup replay on Tuesday. Seven of the 18-man squad from the midweek game were brought to Oldham by Johnson while two others played under him.

Oldham's home record is less impressive than their away figures with their only win at Boundary Park in nine league games this season coming more than three months ago on August 15. No side in the division has scored fewer goals on their own turf than Athletic's eight.

Johnson said: "They have still got a core group that I had and they have good players."

Barnsley could drop to the bottom of the table with defeat but a victory might lift them out of the relegation zone. Johnson said: "It's important to close the gap on teams like Oldham who are just above us in the table."

Reece Wabara, who played 29 games on loan to Oldham from Manchester City three years ago, is due to return from suspension for the Reds.