Charlton Athletic can be Darrell Clarke inspiration in Barnsley promotion turning point | OneFootball

Barnsley`s upcoming League One fixture against Charlton can be a turning point in the Tykes season if they can improve their home form.

During his post-match press conference on Saturday, Barnsley manager Darrell Clarke identified a key area his team must now work on starting with Tuesday's visit of Charlton Athletic.

Clarke was speaking after his Barnsley side had impressed in a 2-1 away win at Blackpool.

Clarke hails Barnsley away form

Saturday's victory at Bloomfield Road was the Tykes' fourth win on the road in six away fixtures this season, which Clarke stated was “top two form”, via the Barnsley Chronicle.

Picking up points on the road has not been an issue for Barnsley in recent seasons. Last season under Neill Collins, the Tykes set not one but two new club records on their travels.

A 3-1 victory on Easter Monday at Burton Albion during the 2023/24 season saw Barnsley set a club record for the longest unbeaten away league run in one season, 11 games. They also set a club record for most away points, 42, and equaled the club record for most away wins with 12.

However, home form last season failed to match the away form, with the Tykes dropping too many points at Oakwell, resulting in missing out on automatic promotion, which looked a possibility back in March 2024.

Clarke stated after the Blackpool victory that he highlighted the poor home form to the players in the dressing room after the final whistle, and they must change that statistic.

Barnsley's poor home form remains a mystery

Why Barnsley has fared so poorly at Oakwell in recent times is a mystery. This season the Tykes have dropped nine points from their five home games already this season. Too many draws at home are undoing the good work on their travels. Barnsley has won just once at home this season, a 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers.

Those three draws really set Barnsley backward. A two-goal lead was lost against Northampton Town back in August, followed by recent back-to-back draws against Stockport County and Wycombe Wanderers that had stalled a promotion charge.

Clearly, Clarke’s team need to improve on controlling games at home. Too often, the Tykes have allowed games to get away from them from winning positions.

Game management is key to seeing out victories at Oakwell. There is plenty of evidence of this team being capable in this area when seeing out victories at Lincoln City, Burton and Blackpool. Those last two victories came about from scoring after the 90th minute, so Clarke’s team can dig deep in games to grind out victories. They just need to start showing that trait at Oakwell.

Barnsley’s next three home league games see them face Charlton, local rivals Rotherham and Wigan Athletic, all sides who currently sit below the Tykes in League One. These three games give Barnsley a chance to build on their good away form and get back into a play-off place. Clarke’s post-match comments after Blackpool show his desire to turn around the poor home form, something his players must take onboard and build on the great victory by the seaside.

Charlton visit Oakwell on Tuesday having picked up just six points from their opening five league away fixtures. Those points came in two 1–0 victories, at Wigan on the opening day and at Shrewsbury in mid-September.

The Charlton game can be a turning point in Barnsley’s season. If they can beat a strong team at home, then it could turn their home form around and that would give them a great chance of promotion. Clarke’s comments show that the game against the Addicks can be seen as an inspiration for him and his squad to work towards.