Barnsley were expecting a difficult start to the Championship season, but to say it's been a struggle is an understatement.

The Tykes sit bottom of the table after picking up just one win in 16 games so far, giving them a points tally of just nine.

That means that the Yorkshire side are already five points from safety with little sign of things improving.

There's plenty of reasons why Barnsley might be struggling this term, so we've decided to dissect what has gone wrong for newly-promoted side.

Tackling today’s Six Pointer is Phil Spencer.

What were Barnsley's expectations this season?

"After being promoted from League One last season, it was always going to be a long, hard season.

"Expectations going into the season were to look towards securing their Championship status with a view to consolidating and building for the future.

"That was a realistic target, but one which appears to be causing problems."

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Are they on track with their performances?

"In a word, no.

"While no one expected Barnsley to be pulling up trees, the hope was they would be able to use the good feeling from a promotion-winning campaign to help them get off to a good start in the league.

"Sadly, that didn't happen.

"The Tykes would probably be looking to have been six-eight points better off at this stage."

Where have Barnsley's performances fallen short?

"Scoring goals has been tricky for the Tykes, but in truth it's at the other end where things have fallen apart.

"Barnsley have conceded 33 goals in their 16 games played so far this season, meaning that they've averaged over two goals conceded in every game played.

"If you need to score an average of three goals in a game to have any chance of winning a match, you're going to be struggling - afterall, even Liverpool or Man City would struggle to bail out that defence."

Who could save the day for Barnsley?

"There's a plethora of young exciting talent in the Barnsley squad, but unfortunately they've just been unable to find their feet so far.

"Alex Mowatt has been the team's main creative threat with five assists, while Cauley Woodrow has been the main man in front of goal with an impressive six goals in 13 games so far.

"If someone can solve their leaky defence these two could be key to helping the Tykes pick up some valuable points."

How important is it to get a new manager in place?

"Obviously it's crucial.

"It's been over a month since Daniel Stendel's controversial sacking and there's a real need for the club to appoint a new boss so that the team can build for the future.

"Of course the next appointment needs to be right, but the limbo surrounding the club at present certainly won't be helping."

Can Barnsley escape from trouble before the end of the season?

"With 30 games still to go there's plenty of time for Barnsley to secure safety.

"But of course it's not an easy job for whoever is going to come in as the new manager.

"However if they can solidify the defence while allowing the likes of Alex Mowatt and Cauley Woodrow to add some attacking emphasis, then there's no reason why they can't challenge the teams around them.

"But for the young squad currently in place, it's time to step and show that they can hack it at Championship level."