Barnsley FC 'concern' raised that Conor Hourihane needs to fix - 'I don't lay the blame on the board' | OneFootball

Barnsley have endured a mixed run of form in recent League One matches

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It has been a rather mixed opening two months of the season for those associated with Barnsley, as the club looks to right the wrongs of last term's major underperformance.

The Tykes endured their worst league finish since 2003 last season in League One, with the South Yorkshire side following up two successive play-off campaigns with a dismal 12th-place finish, some 17 points behind last season's eventual play-off finalists, Leyton Orient, who secured a top-six berth on the final day of the regular season.

Due to their recent pedigree at third tier level and in the Championship, Barnsley are largely expected by a vast majority of supporters - and outsiders - to be among the cluster of sides fighting for promotion right until the season's end.

In truth, there were some encouraging signs at Oakwell amid the aforementioned inconsistencies when Conor Hourihane initially took over from Darrell Clarke on an interim basis, before the modern-day Reds icon was handed his first full-time managerial role weeks later on a two-year contract.

The Irishman looked to have reinstilled belief in the club in the early weeks of the campaign. However, his side have now gone winless across five games in all competitions.

With that being said, FLW asked our resident Barnsley fan pundit, Andy Symcox, what factors he puts such a poor run of form down to.

Reflecting on last season and the Tykes' mixed start to the current season as they currently reside in ninth place with 17 points from the first 30 available, Symcox has debated whether the squad's ability to consistently perform over 90 minutes is there, especially after conceding late goals resulting in either losses or draws to struggling Blackpool and Wycombe Wanderers.

"Last season, we conceded many goals late in games," Symcox told FLW. "We were one of the poorest teams in the division in terms of conceding goals from 75 minutes onwards.

"In my view, this was due to two particular reasons. One being a lack of fitness - both individually and collectively - and secondly, individual mistakes.

"At the start of this season, however, we looked a lot fitter and seemed to cut out the mistakes and be managing games much better," he added.

"However, recently, most notably against Blackpool and Wycombe, we seemed to have returned to our old ways of conceding poor late goals.

"It's obviously a concern to me and, I suspect, most Barnsley fans, worried about us returning to last season's woes that would cost us dear throughout the season," Symcox claimed.

"I think injuries have played their part in this. Most notably, Marc Roberts.

"I don't lay the blame on the board, because they backed Conor Hourihane in the summer transfer window," he said.

Despite the aforementioned stance, Symcox feels that the Tykes are still potentially short in a handful of areas after making eight additions in the off-season.

"We clearly needed a striker, which didn't materialise, but also another defender," our fan pundit continued. "And, we signed Jake Rooney on loan.

"Whether Rooney is the right fit, I'm unsure. My personal wish would have been for a big, strong, no-nonsense defender.

"But, it would be wrong, in my view, to say that Conor wasn't backed."

Barnsley must eradicate defensive errors in order to sustain promotion bid in League One

As Symcox alluded to, Barnsley's old habits appear to be creeping in their recent performances, which will no doubt cause major concerns and frustrations.

Whilst Hourihane was clearly backed with the aforementioned tally of recruits, all barring veteran striker, David McGoldrick and Tennai Watson, were under the age of 25.

It is clear that this points towards a new style and culture at Oakwell, but inexperience in certain situations has played a major role in the throwing away of two points at Adams Park from a winning position, as well as losses to Blackpool and Port Vale, with all three sides still in the lower reaches of the table.

Defensive awareness and sturdiness is what the main focus should be for the Tykes at present, with Hourihane's men showing no ill-affects in forward areas with a total of 16 goals thus far.

However, they must seek to improve the joint-worst defensive record in the division's top-half, before the chances of falling away from the promotion chasers - as the table begins to take shape - becomes a distinct possibility yet again.