Barnsley have secured Chapionship safety earlier than in each of the three previous seasons since promotion, and now the man behind that- manager Mark Robins- is looking to the future.
The Reds are eight points clear of the relelgation trapdoor with nine points left to play for, but fourth bottom Crystal Palace and third bottom Sheffield Wednesday still have to play each other, which means Barnsley are safe with three games to go- In 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 it was secured in the penultimate game, whilst last season it arrived on the last day of the season- and now Robins is looking to the future in his aim to guide Barnsley into the top half in 2010-2011. Robins and owner Patrick Cryne are set to sit down in the near future to discuss summer transfer targets, with Robins hoping to spend money for the first time since taking the managerial hot-seat at Oakwell back in September.
Robins told the Sheffield Star:
"We've achieved the minimum requirement, but I've still got to sit down with the owner and talk to him about what I'd like to do."
"We'll be sitting down at some stage soon, it will be good talk to him and see what we can do going forward.
"There's still a hell of a lot of decisions to be done and at this stage, without talking to him, it remains to be seen whether we can bring in one or two players."
It is beleived the boss could be looking for reinforcements in every department, and rumors are still incredibly strong that a deal for Rotherham United striker Adam Le Fondre- who bagged his 28th goal this season in just 44 starts for the Millers last night- is in place for the summer.