Barnsley have enjoyed an excellent campaign and they have managed to achieve what few would have deemed possible at the start of the season by securing a place in the play-offs.

The Tykes will get the chance to defy the odds once again in the play-offs, with them heading into it being the outsiders. However, they will also have the least amount of pressure placed on themselves to go up out of any of the other sides in them. That is something that they could use to their advantage to secure their place in the Premier League.

Valérien Ismaël has performed a remarkable job and he will be hoping that he can instil enough belief in his squad for them to have a major go at trying to win the play-offs. Few would have expected them to have ended the campaign in 5^th place, so whatever happens in the play-offs this will always be regarded as one of their best ever campaigns.

With the regular campaign now having come to an end, we have taken a look at nine things we have clearly learnt about the Tykes this term…

One thing that has been evident throughout the season is that Barnsley have managed to find themselves a manager in Valérien Ismaël who is going to be set for a potential career at the highest level. He took over in difficult circumstances following the departure of Gerhardt Struber and has performed an incredible job to get the Tykes into the play-offs.

The way that Ismaël has managed to get the very best out of every single one of the players at his disposal throughout his time in charge shows that he is someone with a lot of ability to coach players and utilise their strengths. While he has also proven himself to be adept at making the right decisions during games with his use of subs that have helped him to edge games in Barnsley’s favour.

Ismaël has already been linked with a potential move to Crystal Palace, and there is sure to be a lot of attention paid to him when jobs become available in the top-flight and top end of the Championship in the summer and beyond. He is clearly in the best place for himself at the moment at Oakwell, but there are genuine signs whatever happens with Barnsley he will be heading for the top.

Another thing that has been learnt about Barnsley this season is that forward Daryl Dike is a potential future star in the making who could go as far as he wants in the game. The 20-year-old has been a revelation at Oakwell and has been one of the finest signings the club have made in many a year with his string of excellent displays helping them secure their top-six place.

Dike was something of an unknown quantity when Barnsley signed him on a loan deal until the end of the campaign in the winter window. It is fair to say he is very much now a player on the radar of numerous top-flight clubs. The forward has risen to prominence by firing in nine goals in 19 Championship appearances and for showing real genuine quality consistently.

Barnsley have already managed to keep hold of him for their play-off campaign crucially, but they will face a fight to keep him beyond that period. He has already been linked with the likes of Everton, Manchester United and Leeds United amongst other clubs. Although Dane Murphy has already suggested that the Tykes could potentially re-sign him this summer.

Heading into the summer window, Alex Mowatt’s future at Barnsley is up in the air with him having yet to commit to a new deal at Oakwell meaning that he could be set to leave them when their play-off campaign comes to an end. The midfielder has previously indicated that a decision over his future was going to be delayed until the club know what league they are in next term.

Whatever happens with Barnsley’s play-off matches, Mowatt’s future needs to be sorted out and the Tykes need to try and do all they can to get him to commit to a new deal. That is because he is an integral part of Valérien Ismaël’s set-up and helps to provide some real technical quality in the middle of the park.

With a player of Mowatt’s ability potentially available on a free transfer, there will always be lots of interest from other clubs. However, the Tykes need to show now that they can keep hold of their most important players like the midfielder. If they can, it will demonstrate they have a lot of ambition to progress forwards as a club.

One other thing that has become clear around Oakwell throughout the campaign is that whatever happens with their quest to earn promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs. They are very much a club that are heading in the right direction on and off the field.

The Tykes have defied the odds time and time again this season, but it is no accident and not just something that will be a one-off. There is a structure in place at the football club from the way they recruit players to the way they are coached and developed that demonstrates a pathway for success that will extend beyond a single campaign.

There are many clubs in the Championship with larger budgets and with bigger reputations, but what Barnsley have, as opposed to clubs like Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday, is that they are well ran on and off the pitch.

There is a clear model and plan in place at Oakwell that could lead them to a lot of success on the field over the next few years. It would be a major surprise to see that just fizzle out next term and beyond.

One of the most important aspects at any club is the recruitment department, which is an area that Barnsley have been getting spot on for a while now. Over the last few windows, the Tykes have been signing younger and more hungry players that are all eager to improve and achieve success.

This season, the signings of the likes of Dike, Callum Brittain and Carlton Morris, in particular, have all been huge successes and achieved more than was perhaps thought possible when they headed through the door at Oakwell. Heading into the summer transfer window, confidence will be high that they will make similar successful additions that will play a major role for them next term.

Valérien Ismaël seems to be exactly the right sort of manager that they need to work with the youthful and exciting signings that the Tykes like to make. With him in charge of the club, there is likely to be more players that come into the club and hit the ground running.

When the Championship Team of the Season was announced Barnsley fans would have been delighted to have seen Mowatt rightly claim a spot at the heart of the midfield. However, they would have been equally frustrated not to have seen him be joined by his fellow team-mate Michał Helik.

Helik’s performances at Barnsley this season have at least been recognised by the Tykes themselves in the correct fashion with him having been named their Player of the Season. That in itself highlights how the defender’s omission from the division’s Team of the Year was a major oversight.

The 25-year-old quite simply had an outstanding campaign. He managed to help Barnsley record 13 clean sheets in his 43 league appearances, and averaged 2.4 interceptions, 1.8 tackles and 5.4 clearances per game. Whilst he also chipped in with five goals and was a massive presence at the heart of their defence.

Helik is a player that deserves to have more recognition and appreciation from people outside of Oakwell.

Another thing that we have learnt about Barnsley this season is that Callum Styles is already in the best possible place for his long-term development at Oakwell. Having played a major role for them in an outstanding campaign in the Championship it is natural that he will start to attract the attention of other clubs heading into the summer.

Indeed, already Styles has been linked with a potential move to the likes of Leeds United, Southampton and Norwich City. While it has also been reported that Brighton could also be in the mix to try and sign him as well. The Tykes are believed to be holding out for a valuation of around £8 million for the 21-year-old.

Styles does not need to move on from Barnsley at this stage whatever happens with their play-off campaign. The 21-year-old has a key role in their side in the wing-back position and he has a guarantee of being heavily involved under a talented coach who is improving his game. It would be a major risk at this stage for him to leave and potential sit on the bench of another club.

One other thing that we have learnt from Barnsley this season is that they have managed to build up their squad depth in the final third area, and have players who can come into the side in the front three to change matches. That is a potential factor that could play a major part in their quest to get the better of Swansea City, Brentford and Bournemouth in the play-offs.

Valérien Ismaël has been adept throughout the campaign at making the right changes to his front three during the second half of matches. This has always enabled the Tykes to maintain their high-intensity pressing style of play and often wear down their opponents to eventually grind out important results.

That is something that will once again be used to their advantage in their play-off semi-final against Swansea City. Keeping players fresh for the next two or three games will be vital for the Tykes and it is a weapon that they will be able to use to try and tire out their opponents and keep the pressure on them. Maybe it will even be enough to help them win the play-offs.

At the start of the campaign, there were some surprising and potentially damning comments made by then manager Gerhard Struber over the Tykes’ ambition to move forwards as a club. Those comments came following their 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough back in October in just their fourth league game.

Struber would leave the club just three days later and after 11 months in charge at Oakwell to takeover at MLS side New York Red Bulls. However, since his departure Valérien Ismaël has proven his assessment of the club’s ambitions to be very much misguided. He has guided the same group of players, except those signed in January, to the play-offs.

That has demonstrated that Barnsley’s recruitment model was working and that patience and a firm belief in a clear identity and way of playing was all that stood between them and a promotion challenge.

Perhaps Struber may still stand by his comments at that time, but it seems that the club have been able to do something that he thought was not possible this term. In that regard, his departure certainly worked out for the best.