Danny Wilson has been confirmed as the new manager of Barnsley, 16 years after leading the Yorkshire club to the Premier League.
David Flitcroft was sacked by the Tykes last month, with the club at the foot of the Championship standings. Since then they have collected four points from three matches under the caretaker watch of Micky Mellon, but they remain bottom of the table although they are now effectively four points adrift of safety.
Wilson has been charged with the task of keeping the Oakwell club in the second-tier, which is a far cry from 1997 when he led them to the top division for the first and only time in their history. And although they suffered relegation at the end of their campaign in the Premier League, they were memorable times for all involved.
“It’s a bit surreal but fantastic to be back,” Wilson told Sky Sports. “It’s very exciting and I am very privileged to be asked to come back. It’s changed a great deal. The memories we’ve had before are what they are but football has moved on and the challenge now is to keep the club in the Championship. It’s a tough challenge, but a great challenge.
“In recent weeks, the performances have been very good. Micky Mellon, who took over from David Flitcroft, is very well-respected throughout the game and he’s picked the reins up very well. He’s got a couple of good results to give the belief back to the players and the fans. We’re not cut adrift at the bottom and you can throw a blanket over quite a lot of teams in that area, swapping and changing places on a regular basis. We’ve got to believe we can get out of it, and I think we are capable of doing it.”
Wilson left Barnsley when they were relegated from the Premier League, taking over at Sheffield Wednesday soon afterwards. Since then, he has spent time in charge of Bristol City, MK Dons, Hartlepool United, Swindon Town and Sheffield United, the latter of whom he left in April of this year when he was sacked following a poor run of form.
