Troubling times at Barnsley, further pressure on Conor Hourihane, fan unrest grows

There are more troubling times ahead at Barnsley, further pressure on manager Conor Hourihane, and fan unrest grows.

Alan Nixon said via his Patreon page that the club’s wage bill is set to plummet to around £3.5million, making it one of the lowest in League One.

The Tykes were a side tipped for promotion after dropping down, but now after suffering years of mismanagement, and seen them stuck in the third tier for a fourth season, potentially fifth.

According to @reluctantnicko Barnsley are planning further budgetary cuts next next season, putting more pressure on Conor Hourihane. It is thought that we may have “one of the lowest” budgets in League One next season. #barnsleyfc pic.twitter.com/cEHbac6SQw

— The Oakwell Outlook (@OakwellOutlook) March 29, 2026

In a recent interview Hourihane gave a blunt response regarding the new reality, telling fans not to expect a promotion push next season, or even one after that, while also noting the financial gap and squad depth issues, urging everyone to accept that top-six contention is no longer realistic due to the club’s reduced spending power.

The cuts come despite potential incoming funds from player sales, with an discontent is expected to grow, especially among season ticket holders.

Barnsley currently sit 13th in League One with 50 points from 37 games played, 11 points from the playoff places and 7 points above the relegation zone.

“There needs to be a mindset now of we aren’t pushing for top six,” Hourihane has said. “It will be the same next year, by the way. We need to understand that, get our heads around it, and accept where we are.

“There is an expectation of top six, top six, top six, but it is really difficult to get there in terms of the financial power in the league, in terms of the squad depth.

“If you look at Rotherham, they’ve got a big squad and a big budget, yet they’ve struggled. Wigan and Blackpool have only recently started to find form. Have they left it too late for the play-offs? Only time will tell.

“Blackpool, for example, struggled for most of the season despite having a strong squad, a good team, and a good manager.

“For us, it’s been frustrating and inconsistent. Are we where we want to be? Absolutely not. We need to be pushing for the top six because that’s what this club demands.

“Hopefully, over these final eight games, starting with Wigan, we can put in positive performances, pick up results, and finish the season strongly. That’s crucial heading into next season.”

It’s also said that in 2024/25, Barnsley lost £6.8million, and a deficit due to a lack of player sales and while losses may decrease for 2025/26, following Keillor-Dunn’s move.

Hourihane recently in an interview posted by the Barnsley Chronicle this week: “We will be probably look ahead a little bit. I think we’ve got to.

“I think we’ve got Friday, Monday when we come back and then obviously we’ve got the Saturday, Tuesday games up until the end.

“We obviously still want to pick up points and we want to be really competitive. I do feel like there will be an element of me looking ahead a little bit as the games go on.

“I’m not saying that would be the case straight away from Burton, but that will have to kind of filter in as the games go on.”

On his side keeping two clean sheets in the league this season, the fewest in English professional football, and conceding in each of their last 23 games: “I agree with the clean sheets point of view.

“But I think, over this five-game period, since we’ve really honed in on it, we’ve looked way more stronger and harder to beat, but we’ve just not had the clean sheets.

“But we have been looking at the XG against and goals against over this last five-game period and we’ve looked way more solid.

“We’ve just not had that clean sheet at the end of it, which is probably something that I feel like we definitely deserved, but you don’t always get what you deserve.

“The Doncaster game was probably the typical game where you come away with a clean sheet, but it’s just a penalty incident that went against us.”

Hourihane hoped to use the international break, attention will turn to looking at the squad for next season, and who to offer contracts to.

Here’s the social media reaction to troubling times at Barnsley, further pressure on Conor Hourihane, as fan unrest grows…

@GuestyBFC: Why can’t they just sell up and fuck off?

@na50395: League 2 incoming, these owners could genuinely take us out of the league altogether

@Youuuuuuureds13: Literally what’s the point in running a football club if you’re not properly willing to invest in it?

@tarnlad77: Would tie in with the rumour about Nerrav not putting any more in until he has full control. Been going 42 yrs. Missed more games this season than ever (despite having a ST). Really struggling to find a reason to go @BarnsleyFC needs to come out with a statement.

@DrZazlos: That wouldn’t surprise me at all ☹️ I just can’t understand how these owners benefit by continuing ? It’s soul destroying for the fans 😭

@DinoPaggiossi: Stay strong Barnsley Fans 💪🏻 we know your pain. 💙🦉🤍 And stand with you!

@Darrellmitch73: I can’t commit to this shower of shit 💩

@JonnyCave: The communication has stopped which is always a worrying sign, if there’s any truth in this its clear they’ve pulled up the drawbridge and want out reducing their liabilities.

@PaulWroe25: The right thing to do is for the owners to come out and tell the truth. Once that happens we can all set our expectations & decide what we all want to do or expect. Without that it just causes this. Anxiety, nerves, worry, want out, won’t renew etc. @Barnsley

@Justom29: Even though Barnsley fans gave us dogs abuse about Chansiri… I hope they get this lot out, football has an ownership problem. #swfc #barnsleyfc

@GP1867: Shock of all horrors yet another football club getting dragged through the mud. Football has an ownership problem. #swfc #Barnsleyfc

@veggiekrays: Football has an ownership problem. Despite all the shit some of them have given us, I hope they get it sorted. I wouldn’t wish our situation on our worse enemy

@_JoeDavison: Yorkshire is an absolute cesspit for inept owners. We know better than anyone how ugly this can get. Hang in there Barnsley fans, it’ll get much worse before it gets better

@AdamSWFC__: Football has a genuine ownership problem, as much as we take the piss out of eachother they need to get dragged out of Oakwell, Barnsley shouldn’t be having one of the lowest Budgets in League One in with some of the clubs in there respectfully…

@KieranBarrett96: Just sell up then, what’s the point? 25 million pound net profit they’ve made on player sales alone since they took charge. Yet saying shit like this? Get out.