Poya Asbaghi on Barnsley’s list of contenders for managerial role

Sky Sports – YORKSHIRE, IFK Gothenburg head coach Poya Asbaghi is one of the names under consideration to become the next manager of Barnsley, Sky Sports News understands,

The Tykes are still seeking a replacement for Daniel Stendel, who was sacked almost three weeks ago, and interim boss Adam Murray remains in the running to take over.

But Asbaghi, who has been in charge of the Allsvenskan side since the start of the 2018 season, has emerged as a contender to become the new boss at Oakwell.

Iran-born Asbaghi had a tough first season with the former giants of Swedish football as they finished outside the top 10 of their domestic league and managed only 31 points in their 30 games.

He has fared better in 2019 with IFK sitting in seventh place two games from the end of their league campaign – they can finish no lower and could reach the top six if results go their way.

Asbaghi is yet to manage outside Sweden, having previously taken charge of Dalkurd FF and Gefle IF.

Barnsley remain winless since the opening day of the Sky Bet Championship season but Murray has at least halted their form slide by overseeing draws against high-flying Swansea and West Brom.

Stendel was fired on October 8 after a run of 11 games without a win in all competitions – eight of those matches had ended in defeat.

They remain bottom of the table with eight points from 13 games ahead of their Yorkshire derby with Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon.