By Red Army
May 1 2014

So defeat at Middlesbrough meant that Barnsley were condemned to life in League One next season.

Although this had been expected by most realistic reds fans, it is still a bitter pill to swallow for me.

I knew that relegation was inevitable this campaign but I am still not prepared for life in League One unlike many Barnsley fans.

A lot of fans believe this could be a blessing in disguise and give us the chance to rebuild and come back stronger. They are also sick of losing every week and believe we will at least get back to winning more often than we lose.

I am not so sure that fans should take that for granted and how well we do in League One will depend on how well we recruit during the summer.

Ben Mansford has assured fans we will have a competitive budget for the division but we don’t have a divine right to go down and start winning games.

I remember the last time we went down to the third tier. Even in our promotion campaign the standard of football across the league was dire to watch. It was almost impossible to get excited even when we were winning every week.

I am hoping the standard of the League has improved in entertainment value whilst still hoping the standard of the opposition is still poor enough for us to at least make a play off push.

I have waited until today to write this hoping that the pain of relegation would have subsided slightly and I would have the renewed optimism of many of our fans.

Unfortunately that is still not the case and I believe the chances of another struggle next season are just as likely as a season of success.