Barnsley key figure delivers verdict on his future amid relegation fears

Barnsley manager Poya Asbaghi has revealed he isn’t thinking about his long-term future at the club despite the possibility of relegation at the end of the season, speaking to the Tykes’ media team in his pre-match press conference.

He arrived at Oakwell back in November to succeed Markus Schopp, who had endured a miserable start to the season with the South Yorkshire outfit prior to his dismissal, failing to live up to Valerien Ismael’s standards as they fell into major relegation danger.

Unfortunately for Asbaghi, he didn’t endure a new manager bounce and saw the Tykes continue to struggle, with Neil Warnock even being linked to the club as a possible replacement for the Iranian.

However, the drop-zone battlers have managed to revive their season in recent weeks, winning three of their last six games and coming within seconds of making that four until Lewis Baker scored an injury-time equaliser for Stoke City in midweek.

Despite this setback against the Potters, they have given themselves a fighting chance of  remaining afloat in the Championship as they currently sit just five points behind 21st-placed side Reading with 11 league games to go and have a game in hand over Derby County who Asbaghi’s side currently sit level on points with.

A sacking could be on the agenda if he fails in his mission to achieve survival – but the 36-year-old isn’t thinking beyond tomorrow afternoon’s tie against league leaders Fulham.

He said: “I don’t look into the future in terms of things like that. I’m focused only on the next game. We have to give all of our attention to this.

“But when everything is done, at the end of the season, I’m sure we will look at everything.

“I am here to help Barnsley stay in the division, I enjoy it here