August in the Championship: Barnsley still on an upward curve

Four games gone in the Championship and a two-week break for international action allows managers to take stock of their squads for the battle ahead.

The transfer window may be closed as from 1 September but, after a week or so, loan signings will be allowed for Football League clubs meaning those warming the bench and turning out for the reserves at Premier League clubs will remain sought after.

Barnsley may have started the season with four straight defeats, three in the league and one in the Carling Cup, but there was little sign of panic at Oakwell ahead of the first six-pointer of the campaign, Saturday's home game against Derby County.

National newspaper reports giving manager Simon Davey three games to save his job were dismissed as 'nonsense' by owner Patrick Cryne and Davey's belief that there had been little wrong with early-season performaces was borne out by a 2-0 win against Derby that leaves Barnsley in optimistic mood ahead of the international break and most of the managerial pressure on beaten boss Paul Jewell.

By their own standard, Barnsley spent big in the summer, notably on former Leicester City striker Iain Hume who already has two league goals to his name.

An ambitious move for Kevin Phillips failed though and Davey still has to wheel and deal in the transfer market. Once again he has showed no qualms about buying players from all corners of the globe.

Two of his most successful buys, goalkeeper Heinz Muller and midfielder Anderson de Silva are set to return to first-team action soon after injury, adding further to what is the strongest squad assembled at Oakwell in many a year.

Promotion and the play-offs may be out of reach for last season's FA Cup semi-finalists, but it will be a surprise to see Barnsley involved in a relegation battle in nine months time.