[themaclad]

Barnsley have appointed ex-Sheffield United defender Neill Collins as their new head coach on a two-year deal.

The 39-year-old Scot takes over at Oakwell after four years in charge of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USA.

Collins replaces Michael Duff, who left to take over at Championship side Swansea City in June.

Duff led the Tykes to fourth in League One last season, but they were beaten by South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off final.

Collins, who also had spells as a player with Dumbarton, Sunderland and Wolves, will manage USL Championship side Tampa for the final time on Saturday before coming to England.

The Rowdies are third in the Eastern Conference with 31 points from 17 games so far this year, and owner Stuart Sternberg said they would "say farewell with a mixture of pride and sadness".

Collins on Roy Keane, Joe Cole & managing in Florida
"I am absolutely thrilled to be stepping back into the English Football League and even more so to be joining a club of this stature," Collins told the Barnsley website.

"I am fortunate to be working with a squad that just achieved a play-off final but understand there is a lot of work to be done if we want to replicate that success and go a step further.

"I can't wait to get started and work on getting this club back to where it belongs."

Collins spent five years with Sheffield United before leaving to join Tampa in March 2016.

The former centre-back retired from playing to become the club's manager in May 2018, and was named the league's coach of the year in 2021.

He is the Tykes' fifth managerial appointment since October 2020, with the club starting the season at home to Port Vale on Saturday, 5 August.

Neill Collins
Collins has won 98 of his 175 matches in charge of Tampa after taking over in May 2018
Analysis - Big step up but Collins working from solid base
BBC Radio Sheffield's Adam Oxley

As soon as Josh Windass scored his 123rd-minute play-off final winner at Wembley to send Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship and keep Barnsley in League One, everyone connected with the Reds feared that Michael Duff would be on his way.

And so it proved, as Swansea came calling for the man who had turned Barnsley into a promotion-challenging team from the shell of a relegated side he inherited less than 12 months previously.

Replacing Duff was always going to be a difficult job, but players, coaches and even chief executives are like a revolving door at Oakwell, with mixed success over recent years.

Collins is well-respected locally from his five years and 200-plus appearances at Bramall Lane - the 39-year-old Scot initially left the Blades to join Tampa in the USA as a player, before being promoted to manager in 2018.

He has been successful in the United Soccer League Championship, but clearly taking over an aspiring League One club in England will be a big step up.

It's no doubt a left-field appointment by Barnsley, but such appointments have worked before, with at-the-time-unknown head coaches like Daniel Stendel, Gerhard Struber and new Watford boss Valerien Ismael all enjoying relative success.

The Reds will expect another tilt at promotion and, with a lot of the same players still at the club, Collins has a good base to work from.

[themaclad]

Potted

[Lord Snooty]

Well, didn't see that coming.

[themaclad]

Barnsley fans probably did

[Lord Snooty]

Fifth in the table. Just about to embark on another play off campaign. Strange timing.

[themaclad]

League One Barnsley have sacked head coach Neill Collins with one game of the regular season left.

The Tykes are fifth in the third tier but are without a win in their past five matches.

Should they fail to beat Northampton on Saturday in their last game, they will drop out of the play-off places if two of Lincoln, Oxford and Blackpool win.

Collins, 40, took over at Oakwell in July after a spell in charge of USL Championship side Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USA.

Director of football Mladen Sormaz said in a statement on the club website, external that "with a crucial season conclusion ahead of us, we feel that now is the right time to make a change".

The South Yorkshire side have not dropped out of the top six once since 3 October.

They were three points off second-placed Bolton with a game in hand after blowing a 2-0 lead over Wanderers in a home match on 5 March.

However, they subsequently lost 5-1 at home to Lincoln five days later and have won just two of their nine matches since then and Saturday's 3-2 reverse at Blackpool proved to be the Scot's last match.

Coach Martin Devaney has been placed in interim charge as Barnsley look to secure a play-off berth for the second successive season.

Lincoln host promoted Portsmouth, while Oxford and Blackpool face away trips to Exeter and Reading respectively in League One's final round of matches on Saturday.

Have fans forced club to act - Analysis
BBC Radio Sheffield sport manager Rob Staton

The fans were calling for Collins to go throughout the Blackpool game and certainly Barnsley’s form has collapsed in recent weeks. They’ve gone from legitimate automatic promotion candidates to needing to win on the final day to guarantee a play-off place.

However, it’s hard to understand how a club can decide, with one game to go, that now is the time to change. If they don’t see Collins as the man today, what did they think a month ago? Why not change earlier, to give a new boss the time to set things up for the play-offs? Or why not, having got this far, just play out the season?

I also think it’s harsh on Collins. He picked up a team that had lost its manager and key players last summer and had them in the play-off places most of the season. This isn’t a squad that screams promotion or bust, so what are the expectations? It does feel a bit like the club has reacted to the disapproval of the fans, which was extremely vocal at the weekend.

[St Charles Owl]

Classic knee jerk reaction by a football club!!