This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Barnsley produced a much improved display to get the better of Derby County on Wednesday and will be hoping to build on that when they play host to Hull City on Saturday.

Joseph Laumann is doing himself no harm in caretaker charge and potentially could even throw his name into the ring to get the job on a permanent basis if he makes it six points from two games in charge.

It was obvious that Barnsley's squad was underperforming particularly after the incredible second half to the 2020/21 season they had under Valerien Ismael. It has materialised that Markus Schopp was the problem and the Tykes can climb out of the relegation zone with victory over the Tigers.

Aaron Leya Iseka is in fine form now with three in his last three, alongside Victor Adeboyejo and Cauley Woodrow there is the foundations of a menacing front three.

Ahead of the crunch encounter at Oakwell on Saturday we gathered the thoughts of a selection of FLW writers to see if they believe that Joseph Laumann is a realistic candidate for the job on a permanent basis if Barnsley beat Hull...

Ned Holmes

I think that would be hasty, to be honest.

Jo Laumann deserves credit for the result against Derby County, which was just the Tykes' second win of the season, and his stock will rise further if they beat Hull City on the weekend.

But that is far too small a sample size to make him a realistic candidate – particularly given the difficult situation Barnsley find themselves in this season.

That's not to say they should rule him out but rather they should be patient and weigh up the decision properly rather than rushing into anything.

It might buy Laumann some more time but two wins shouldn't get him the job.

Alfie Burns

 

 

It’s a results business, so if Laumann keeps getting results as caretaker, he will be considered.

There’s no denying that last night’s win over Derby County was huge for Barnsley. All of a sudden, the Championship table paints a very different picture for the Tykes.

If I was to give you my gut feeling, it would be that Barnsley need to look longer-term. Can Laumann realistically keep picking up the wins required with this squad over the remainder of the season?

Someone with a touch more experience would have a better chance of doing so.

However, if the 38-year-old keeps doing the business in the interim, he feels a very ‘Barnsley’ appointment.

Josh Cole

Although guiding his side to victory this weekend will boost Laumann’s chances of getting the Barnsley job on a permanent basis, it could be argued that the club should not be making a decision based on two games.

Whilst the Tykes did show signs of promise in their clash with Derby County on Wednesday, there is no guarantee that Laumann will be the right man to lead them into a new dawn.

If the 38-year-old continues to secure positive results in the coming weeks, the club’s hierarchy ought to consider handing over the reins to him as he already knows the strengths and the weaknesses of his players.

However, if Barnsley suffer a drop-off in performance levels, they may find it more beneficial to draft in a replacement for Markus Schopp who possesses a great deal of experience of working as a manager at this level instead of taking a risk on Laumann.