8 teams that stand between Barnsley and glory.
After 6 years in the promotion wilderness, Barnsley have surged into the top 6 of League One, boasting the best home record in the league and including highlights such as a 5-2 win over Scunthorpe, two excellent 2-0 successes against Nottingham Forest and epics such as last gasp draws with Blackpool and Rotherham and a gripping 1-0 victory over promotion rivals Colchester United.
This time last season The Reds were 13th in League One 11 points off the Play-Offs with nothing but summer holidays to look forward to.
What a difference an enthusiastic and forward thinking manager sprinkled with some hard-workers can do hey.
The nerves are understandably starting to fray, the top two and indeed mid-table are both equally still within sight.
With 4 of the remaining 8 games against teams who still harbour genuine hopes of playing Championship football, Barnsley are now about to win or bust.
Boss Andy Ritchie decided against adding to the squad before Thursdays loan deadline stating he will show loyalty to the players that have taken the club this far in 38 games, will they show loyalty in him and drag the club that final step?
Certainly there is optimism yet caution.
Barnsley have the second best defensive record in the league and in Paul Reid and Matt Carbon, a partnership that is second to none, but have a strike force that can produce goals, but with a record of just 22 league goals between the 4 of Marc Richards, Paul Hayes, Daniel Nardiello and Tommy Wright, its hardly the envy of the league. ( Michael Chopra bagged 17 on his own for the club last season).
Also every team in the top 6 or 7 have had a bad run at some point this season but Barnsley's seems to have come at the wrong possible time, 2 wins in 8 against 7th place Oldham's run of 5 wins in 6 has seen a once 7 point gap reduced to just 2.
Still glory is still in the hands of our players and victory against midtable Bournemouth on Saturday could just be the spark needed to secure at the very least a play-off spot. Incidentally Barnsley also played on 25th March last year, producing by far their best performance of the season in beating Champions-elect Luton Town 3-1 on their own patch, another performance like that this weekend would be greatly appreciated.
I now urge every Red fan out there to come down to Oakwell for the final run-in, yes football matches aren't cheap anymore and my criticisms may not inspire a lot of confidence but after what the players have put in over the course of the season, they have earned our support. Us diehard fans haven't had such an exciting end of season for SIX long and extremely painful years.
Get down to Oakwell, raise the roof and help the team take that final step back to the division we all call home.
COME ON YOU REDS!!!!