“People don’t know” - Luca Connell drops “behind the scenes” Barnsley reveal after Darrell Clarke sacking | OneFootball

The Tykes captain on off-field issues, play-off hopes and dressing room accountability

Barnsley captain Luca Connell has provided insight into the club’s recent struggles following the dismissal of head coach Darrell Clarke.

The Reds, who have endured a difficult run of form, find themselves outside of the play-off places with ten games left to play.

Clarke’s departure after just nine months in charge came in the wake of a 3-0 home defeat to Blackpool, which compounded a poor run of results.

Speaking to the BBC’s Football Heaven, Connell reflected on club’s downturn in form and the departure of Clarke.

Luca Connell on Darrell Clarke’s sacking, taking responsibility and off-field issues

“It’s never nice to see anyone lose their job,” Connell said. “As much as the gaffer’s taken the hit on this one, I think the players have to look at themselves as well.”

“It’s not just down to the gaffer why the club weren’t doing well enough or why we weren’t performing on the pitch. We’ve got to look at ourselves. But it’s football - it happens - and we’ve just got to move on as quickly as we can with a fresh start.”

When asked why the season had not gone as planned, Connell hinted at underlying issues within the club, though he remained tight-lipped on specifics.

He said: “I think there’s a lot of factors. I don’t think the play-offs are a write-off – we’ve got ten games left and a fresh start to give it a good bash and try to get fifth or sixth.

“But there’s a lot of things that have gone on behind the scenes that not everyone knows the facts of. We’re just focusing on what we can do on the training pitch and on the pitch itself to try and turn things around.”

A key talking point among Barnsley supporters had been the tactical approach under Clarke.

While some fans voiced frustration over what they perceived as inconsistency or confusion on the pitch, Connell defended the managerial decisions while also taking responsibility as a squad.

“I don’t think ‘muddled’ is the right word,” he explained. “Sometimes the gaffer rolled the dice, and we had to try different formations because some weren’t working. But that’s down to us as well - we’re the ones on the pitch. If we see something, we have to fix it.”

“There’s no doubt about how hard the staff worked behind the scenes. We went into every game with a good, clear gameplan, but if we weren’t executing that, maybe the gaffer tried something new that we hadn’t worked on all week.”

“Maybe that looked unorganised, but we’ve got to do that to try and win games. Sometimes he rolled the dice and we ended up winning - when that happens, fans don’t look at the details. ‘Muddled’ isn’t the word - sometimes we just had to roll the dice.”

Managerless Barnsley’s next steps in the play-off push

With Clarke gone, the Tykes hierarchy have placed former club captain Conor Hourihane in interim charge for the remaining ten games.

Chairman Neerav Parekh and sporting director Mladen Sormaz have indicated that a long-term managerial appointment will be made over the summer, but in the meantime, the focus remains on salvaging the season.

Barnsley currently sit eight points outside the play-off spots, meaning Hourihane and his coaching staff must inspire a rapid turnaround in form.

With players like Connell eager to take accountability, the Reds will be hoping that their final stretch of games can still lead to an unexpected push for promotion.

The next few weeks will be crucial, and for Barnsley fans, the hope is that the squad’s self-reflection translates into results on the pitch.