ODEJAYI HOPES TO SAVE BARNSLEY
Barnsley striker Kayode Odejayi has had a bittersweet week in football. He missed a glorious opportunity to equalise at Wembley in last Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Cardiff and then scored a brace against promotion-chasing Watford to help lift his side out of the relegation zone.
Now the Nigerian-born forward believes that the only way is up for the Tykes and after his double strike on Wednesday he can sleep a lot easier. The 3-0 victory at Watford pushed Barnsley to 18th in the Championship and on Saturday they travel to Preston in search of only their third away win of the season.
The 26-year-old, who signed from Cheltenham last summer, admits he needed picking up by his family, friends and a mind coach after his Wembley howler.
He said: “It is hard not to think about the chance – it has been going over in my head. But the more days that pass, the better I feel. And after Wednesday's goals I think I am well on the way to getting my confidence back. There was a lot of relief when I scored.”
The powerful attacker praised his manager, Simon Davey, for continuing to select him. “A lot of managers might have pushed you to one side and forgot about you,” he continued. “But the gaffer has been good and stuck by me.
“He told me: ‘Get your head up, don't beat yourself up about it too much, it's not just down to you, it's a team performance’. You have the ups and downs and you have to deal with all of them so everyone's been brilliant."
On relegation survival – Barnsley are only two points above the drop zone – Odejayi said: “We have all got to try and keep us up. Against Watford every single one of those Barnsley players on the pitch was a hero and we will be going to Preston to try and do the same thing.
“We've got six massive cup finals to go now because we're trying to stay in the Championship. They're all massive games now, we have to take them one at a time and hopefully get the points we need.”
And Odejayi is hoping that his strikes will go a long way to helping Barnsley retain their Championship status. He is convinced that, as he is sleeping better now, he will be banging the goals in.
He added: “Rather than having that missed chance going through my head when I try and sleep, I can have Wednesday's performance and goals. So I’ll probably get a better night's sleep from now on.”
Barnsley striker Kayode Odejayi has had a bittersweet week in football. He missed a glorious opportunity to equalise at Wembley in last Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Cardiff and then scored a brace against promotion-chasing Watford to help lift his side out of the relegation zone.
Now the Nigerian-born forward believes that the only way is up for the Tykes and after his double strike on Wednesday he can sleep a lot easier. The 3-0 victory at Watford pushed Barnsley to 18th in the Championship and on Saturday they travel to Preston in search of only their third away win of the season.
The 26-year-old, who signed from Cheltenham last summer, admits he needed picking up by his family, friends and a mind coach after his Wembley howler.
He said: “It is hard not to think about the chance – it has been going over in my head. But the more days that pass, the better I feel. And after Wednesday's goals I think I am well on the way to getting my confidence back. There was a lot of relief when I scored.”
The powerful attacker praised his manager, Simon Davey, for continuing to select him. “A lot of managers might have pushed you to one side and forgot about you,” he continued. “But the gaffer has been good and stuck by me.
“He told me: ‘Get your head up, don't beat yourself up about it too much, it's not just down to you, it's a team performance’. You have the ups and downs and you have to deal with all of them so everyone's been brilliant."
On relegation survival – Barnsley are only two points above the drop zone – Odejayi said: “We have all got to try and keep us up. Against Watford every single one of those Barnsley players on the pitch was a hero and we will be going to Preston to try and do the same thing.
“We've got six massive cup finals to go now because we're trying to stay in the Championship. They're all massive games now, we have to take them one at a time and hopefully get the points we need.”
And Odejayi is hoping that his strikes will go a long way to helping Barnsley retain their Championship status. He is convinced that, as he is sleeping better now, he will be banging the goals in.
He added: “Rather than having that missed chance going through my head when I try and sleep, I can have Wednesday's performance and goals. So I’ll probably get a better night's sleep from now on.”
Labels: Barnsley, Championship, football, Kayode Odejayi, Preston North End, Simon Davey, Watford
