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Valerien Ismael says Barnsley are ready to “crash the party” in the Championship play-offs as they attempt to seal one of the most unlikely promotions in history ahead of the first leg of their semi-final against Swansea at Oakwell.
When Ismael replaced New York-bound Gerhard Struber in October, Barnsley, who had avoided relegation to League One on the final day of last season, were in the midst of an eight-game winless run to start the campaign and looking set for another season of struggle towards the bottom of the division.
But, after a 3-0 defeat to Cardiff in early November, Ismael said he knew what he needed to do to make Barnsley competitive in the Championship – initially the progress was steady but from mid-February the impact became far clearer as they won 13 out of their 19 fixtures to finish fifth.
Monday 17th May 8:00pm
Kick off 8:15pm
The play-off quartet is completed by Bournemouth, aiming for an immediate return to the Premier League, and Brentford, who were beaten play-off finalists last season. Barnsley are the outsiders but Ismael is confident of springing a couple more shocks.
“The good thing is we can go into the game without pressure and it will maybe be the first and the last time that Barnsley can go into a game without pressure,” he told Sky Sports News.
“We have a big desire to continue. We are really focused, we want to continue our story, to push our limits and we are more ready now than for the first games against Swansea.
“We are the underdogs. I think it’s clear if you see the players in the other squads – the other squads have to be in the play-offs or maybe straight into the Premier League. We are not expected to be in the play-offs, we just crashed the party.
The Frenchman has been in charge at Oakwell since October
“But we don’t want to just enjoy being here, we are ambitious competitors and it’s all about football. This is the story of football, the truth is on the pitch and now we have two games in the semi-final to continue in the way with our story and our belief and our strength.”
Ismael’s previous spell in English football was a brief one – 13 appearances with Crystal Palace in 1998, coincidentally the only season that Barnsley spent in the Premier League.
The Frenchman never faced his current club and he is still yet to experience Oakwell with fans, though that will change on Monday with 4,500 supporters expected. Included in that number is Ismael’s family who he has been separated from for much of the last few months, but that will only add to the sense of occasion for the semi-final.
“It’s like when you date your wife for the first time, you are very excited, you are nervous and it could be the same feeling but we are looking forward to meeting them [the fans],” he added.
“It’s a big reward for everyone. We have had so many victories, so many outstanding goals and it wasn’t possible to share this, but now the fans have the possibility to see the players and share the emotion with the players and to push the guys over the limit, it’s exactly what we need.
“When the offer came we took the decision together. My wife knew it was all a dream to come back to England after my first experience in Crystal Palace, but it was really hard in some periods especially in January and February with the new variant.
“We went months without seeing the family but the sacrifice was worth it to get the reward and now the family will be in the stadium and I think it’s a big relief for everyone to make that.”
Ismael’s young squad have spoken about the impact he has had on their development, his attention to detail and the clarity of message going into games – there is also the sense that, at 6ft 5ins, he is an imposing figure not to be messed with.
But his chief executive, American Dane Murphy, who was convinced he was the right man for the project as soon as he met him, believes the “sky is the limit” in terms of Ismael’s coaching career.
The Tykes first entered the play-off places on March 6 after a 1-0 win over Birmingham and never looked back
Ismael has previously worked at Wolfsbury, Apollon Smyrnis and most recently Austrian club LASK – but taking Barnsley into the Premier League would unquestionably be the most significant achievement of his career.
It is not something he is allowed himself to consider just yet, though.
“I am not a dreamer, I stopped dreaming especially since I’ve been a manager,” he said. “I think the reality of the job is really tough and you have to stay focused all the time on the next game because anything can happen, you can make a big difference or you can lose.
“I try to put this in the mindset of the guys, just to stay focused on the next game. If the time has come to dream, the time will come, but at the minute it’s time to work, to invest a lot of energy and to sacrifice everything. We have to sacrifice in the game to win and take the next game until we are over the line.
“It has to be the purpose of every player to discover his greatness, to show a big mentality and our players are dedicated to the way we play, to have a work ethic and this is what we made from the first minute to the last minute. We have no regrets and when we give everything and do the right thing we’ll win more games than we lose.”
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