"Strange" - Pundit weighs in on Barnsley saga as unique play-off scenario looms v Bolton | OneFootball

It's been a tumultuous few days for Barnsley, and they're set to start their League One play-off campaign without a permanent manager.

The Tykes sacked manager Neill Collins in April despite the club being in the play-off places, and the hope was that the club would have a new permanent manager in the dugout by the time that the play-offs began.

Barnsley had Austrian manager Dominik Thalhammer ready to appoint, and he had even signed a contract with the club, but he was unable to obtain a work permit, meaning he was unable to take over at Oakwell, and leaving the Tykes without a permanent manager.

Caretaker boss Martin Devaney will instead lead the club for their two play-off games, a far from ideal situation at the most important point of the club's season.

Carlton Palmer on Barnsley's managerial situation

Former England international and current pundit Carlton Palmer can't understand why Barnsley sacked Neill Collins so close to the end of the season, and believes that he should have been given the chance to lead the club during the play-offs, before a decision was made at the end of the season.

Speaking to Football League World, Palmer said: "Barnsley’s move for Dominik Thalhammer was confirmed last week, it was all signed, sealed and delivered. They thought he met the criteria for a work permit, but he didn’t meet the criteria, and he was unable to get a work permit.

"I’m really surprised by the sacking of Neill Collins. I know that they had four defeats and two draws in his last six games, and they tailed off a little bit, but they were in a play-off place, the same as they were last season.

"The hierarchy may have thought that they should have kicked on from last season with the young players they had and won automatic promotion, but they were in the play-offs.

"Okay, they sacked him before the last game when they could still have missed out on the play-offs, but why would you sack a manager who has got you to the play-offs? You give it to the end of the situation, and then you take a look because you’ve still got a chance of winning promotion."

However, Palmer understands why the club would have parted ways with Collins if the brief was to win automatic promotion this season.

"Unless they brought Collins in and told him the criteria was automatic promotion, then it’s a different ball game. But they sacked him on the penultimate game of the season when they were worried about missing out on the play-offs, and lined another manager up, so they must have been thinking about it for a while.

"I don’t know whether something else has gone on behind the scenes, but it seems pretty bizarre to me to sack the manager and having to go with the assistant manager in the play-offs.

"In actual fact now, Martin Devaney will take them into the play-offs, after taking charge of their last game, which was a defeat, and they could regret the decision that they made, because they’ll never know if Neill would have been able to turn things around in the play-offs.

"You never know, and it seems a very, very strange decision to make."

Barnsley should have kept Neill Collins until the end of the season

Obviously, Barnsley weren't to know that Thalhammer's move was to fall through, and it would have been a good appointment had it worked out, but in hindsight the Tykes would have been better off keeping Collins until the end of the season, and reassessing the situation then.

Collins could have led the club to promotion given the lottery of the play-offs, or if they were unsuccessful, the club could have sacked him at the end of the season. This would have been a more suitable time to part ways than when they did, and they're now in a difficult situation.

It's far from ideal being in the play-offs without a permanent manager, and understandably, expectations aren't too high amongst the Oakwell faithful.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but keeping Collins until the end of the season would have been the best move for Barnsley.