ON DARYL DIKE
“The Dike transfer figure is an organism. It just grows on its own, with more oxygen every week. It’s fun to watch from afar when you actually know what it is, and you see people talking about it and the things that are being reported.
“We have a price for Daryl that we set with Orlando at the beginning of the deal. We have first rights on him, if we want to exercise that option at the end of the season. It’s achievable for Barnsley but we just need to see where we are at the end of the campaign.
“But of course, Daryl’s form has been so good since he arrived, that yes, there are enormous suitors looking at him. The focus for us is the next five games. But we would have to see at the end of the season where we are financially. It’s not necessarily about the division. But I think his performances have put him in a position where there are teams already in that division who are now interested.
“He’s a 20-year-old kid, he has the world in front of him and he’s as big a part of the decision also. So let’s just see where we all are at the end of the year.”
ON SEASON TICKET SALES
“We have had an unbelievable amount of backing and support since we launched our season tickets. Just yesterday, we passed the 5,000 mark and for our club, our community living through this difficult time together, to be able to receive that kind of support is awe-inspiring.
“I still, every time we ask our fans to come out and support their club, to support the badge, they do it unflinchingly and I have a hard time putting it into words just how much that inspires me.
“So they’re out there, they’re on sale, it’s the back-end of the early bird period and we’re ahead of where we’ve been in the past and that’s really a testament to our fanbase and the Barnsley community as a whole.”
ON THE PROMOTION DREAM
“It is the dream. Whether you’re on the bottom rung of the ladder, or you’re in touching distance of it.
“But we are still keeping our feet on the ground. Every one of us here is focused only on the next game in front of us. Just as Valérien says himself, it really is one by one.
“We do believe though, that we can win any game when we step onto the pitch.
“It’s that kind of belief that we’ll need to maintain if we want to achieve the dream.”