We have to get something out of games like that

“We were unlucky not to score more really and I felt we thoroughly deserved that. We created a lot of chances in the first half and played very well. It was a fast flowing game and we always knew that Burnley would come back into it.

“We know that we are down the wrong end of the league for a reason and we knew that Burnley would come at us but we stood up to that. We deserved that win over the ninety minutes. I am delighted to come away with the right result after such a good performance.

“The work rate has been fantastic for the last month and today we showed great commitment and courage out there. I cannot praise my lads highly enough.”

Steve Cotterill, having seen his side win just once in the last nine games, highlighted the absence of Andy Gray as one of the reasons for the recent disappointing results. “We dominated the second half after a sloppy first half and I felt we should have gone on and got something,” he said. “But I have just admitted to the players for the first time that it looks like we miss Andy Gray.

“After his injury I spoke to them to make sure we didn't have another scenario where we bit the dust because we had our top scorer missing. But if you look at the games we've had and the possession we've had, back to Ipswich, Coventry, Sunderland, Derby and now Barnsley, Andy would have scored at least two goals. That probably would have given us three points here and three points somewhere else and that is our problem.

“While it's inevitable that you concede, we have tried to put the burden on a 19-year-old's shoulders and it has been tough on him. Andy is a big void for anyone at our club to fill and we've missed him. It is obvious and that's why we have had to change the personnel so much and gamble.

“Losing your main striker is a problem and any club will tell you that, but we haven't got him yet and we are not going to have him for a while.”

Looking at the game he added: “We need to come out fighting and not give away sloppy goals as we did today. We have absolutely dominated that game and even though we can't take away the fact that Brian Jensen has made a couple of saves, we are really, really disappointed.

“We have had chances and one of their lads admitted the chance that fell to Gifton was hand ball, but we cannot rely on that because we haven't had a penalty for a year. It is the other opportunities that we should have done better with and I cannot believe we are going away from here with nothing.

“We look a little bit anxious when a chance comes our way, rather than taking a deep breath and getting a clean contact with the ball. It will come back and we will go on to finish this season hopefully as strongly as we started it.

“But we have to get something out of games like that. Barnsley had no threat at all in the second half but the bottom line is it was unacceptable from us in the first half.”