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Former striker Sam Parkin thinks that Barnsley boss Darrell Clarke is currently not getting the best out of his attackers as he searches for the right approach.
Barnsley have had a mixed start to the campaign, with a 3-0 loss last month at the hands of Stevenage in League One, but have managed one win and two draws in their last three league outings.
Ground has been lost on runaway league leaders Birmingham City, but second placed Wrexham remain just two points ahead of Barnsley.
Parkin believes that Barnsley are not yet firing on all cylinders because Clarke has not worked out how to get the best out of his attackers.
The ex-EFL star feels that it could be a case of needing to iron out the issues in the final third of the pitch for the Oakwell side.
“I don’t think Darrell Clarke knows exactly how to get the best out of some of his forward players, how to line them up right now”, Parkin said on What The EFL.
“I think there have been quite a few different systems, probably getting the best out of Adam Phillips and [Davis] Keilor-Dunn, who want to operate in a similar position, a similar type of role.
“[Steven] Humphreys has been coming on and affecting things off the bench, but from the start not so much.
“Going forward there are a few conundrums there that will probably iron themselves out as the season progresses, but at the moment a little bit of a mixed bag.”
Barnsley have an examination of their promotion ambitions this weekend when they head to take on Huddersfield Town in League One.