Last Updated: Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:26
David Flitcroft is wary of a backlash at Middlesbrough on Saturday when Barnsley will look to climb out of the relegation zone with a third straight league win.
The Tykes have won three, drawn one and lost one of their five league games under Flitcroft, while Tony Mowbray's Boro will be chasing their first league victory of the year in a bid to get their play-off challenge back on track.
"I don't know whether form applies to the Championship," said Flitcroft. "I think it does in the Premier League, but the Championship is so up and down and you don't know who's going to beat who, it's just a leveller.
"Every game is a leveller. Peterborough at the start of the season couldn't win a game and then won the next three, we've struggled all season and have now gone on a decent run.
"Middlesbrough have been beaten in their last four (league games), but we're talking about very good footballers here. Blackburn, before we played them, were on a poor run, but Rochina, Murphy, Lowe, Kazim-Richards and Rhodes - all very good players and Middlesbrough are similar.
"They're a good team with good players and we're going to have to implement a strategy that's better than theirs on the day.
"One thing I want to see is my players continue to fight for each other. They've been doing that consistently and that's the only thing I'll be asking for as a manager and their leader that they fight for each other anf fight for the club because that's special.
"When you've got players in that squad fighting for each other, every single one of them, then I won't have a problem with that group."
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