Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber says the club will not rush in their attempts to bring in a free agent centre back, despite the precarious situation they find themselves in in the Championship table.

The Tykes - who added one central defender to their ranks in the January window with Michal Sollbauer joining from Struber's former club Wolfsberger - had been keen to add another to their options during the winter window, but failed to do so before the close of the market last Friday.

Consequentially, the club are now searching the free-agent market for potential backup in that position, although it seems Struber is willing to take his time in that search.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post about his quest for another centre back, the Barnsley boss revealed: “It is a priority that we pick up a good player in the defence. But we need the right player.

“When we are not 100 per cent convinced it is the right player, it is better we don’t do it.

Discussing how Barnsley may approach this search in a different way to past windows, Struber continued: “We must learn from the last transfer window and when we are 100 per cent convinced that this is the right player who can help us from the first second – especially at this moment – and we can grow this player and it is the right time for them to come to Barnsley, then we do it.”

"We look for (free agent) players who maybe can help us. Maybe we pick up a player now, but it is not so easy.”

Following a 2-1 defeat away at fellow struggles Charlton last weekend, Barnsley are now second from bottom of the Championship table, seven points adrift of safety going into their clash with Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Oakwell on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

This is probably the right approach for Struber to take.

While you can understand their desire to bring in a defender, it does make sense for them to wait to bring in someone who is established enough and has the right amount of experience for the job at hand.

If they bring in someone who does not match that description, then they run the risk of being hampered by the same defensive errors that have already cost them so heavily this season.

Even so, with the games coming fast in February, you feel they will want to get something sorted sooner rather later, or else it could already be too late by the time they are able to bring someone to the club.