Neill Collins, the head coach of BARNSLEY, acknowledges that it was a difficult decision to bench Jack Shepherd and give Jamie McCart his league debut on Saturday, but he has emphasized that he wants more of those tough choices.
Shepherd, who joined the Reds in the close season from non-league Pontefract Collieries, was handed a fast-track promotion to the first team last month – and his authoritative performances justified the faith of Collins.
But the Scot chose to hand McCart, who recently joined on a season-long loan from Rotherham United, a League One bow against Burton and start with Shepherd on the bench – with the strong display of the loanee also being a clear tick in the box for the Reds chief.
Collins said: “To all intents and purposes, Jack Shepherd deserved to play, but we need a lot of players who deserve to play because of the way they train and how good they are.” Collins’ team is attempting to earn a fifth straight victory — and clean sheet — in all competitions on Tuesday night at home against Portsmouth.
“Jack played incredibly well in the last two games, and I’m really happy with how he’s developing since joining the team.
“This is a fortunate circumstance, and Jack recognized it. The only way to react is to intensify your training and demonstrate that you are prepared for the next opportunity.
“On Saturday, Jamie demonstrated the talent he provides, demonstrated his expertise, and will only get better. He didn’t play much football last year. But before that, he participated in a significant number of games in the Scottish Premier League.
It was a solid league debut, and hopefully there will be much more of those kinds of performances in the future.
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