REDS manager Simon Davey took time to reflect on another rollercoaster season at Oakwell.

Simon said: "Last summer was my first close season and pre-season as a manager and I gave myself the task of revamping the entire squad here. It was a big task and a good learning experience but something I enjoyed. We brought together a group of players to compete in the Championship but a year on I think we made some fantastic signings. I am pleased with the way things went and hopefully we can improve again this year.

"Every signing had obstacles and these were even bigger because we brought in players from abroad. We had to sell the club to the player, his family and his agent. We had to sell Barnsley Football Club and what we wanted to achieve here. It was difficult at times but we managed to bring in 16 or 17 players. That is a big turnaround for any club and we are lucky that this summer we have everybody under contract.

"Selling Barnsley and Barnsley Football Club was easy. We wanted to sell the Club, our facilities, our dream and our coaching staff. Of course we had pitfalls along the way with certain players, who probably now regret not signing for us and not being a part of last season. We brought players in from Cheltenham, Leicester, Peru and Spain and we managed to overcome those difficulties and go on a rollercoaster ride in the last 12 months.

"Dennis Souza came in last summer has been great for us this season. He came here on a free transfer from Charleroi in Belgium and impressed during pre-season. He has had a full season now playing in the Championship and has earned rave reviews along the way. For us to go out and capture a player like Dennis from off the radar is a massive coup. He has proved to be an excellent Championship defender and he has done very well for us this season. Hopefully he will get even better next season.

"You end up where you deserve to be at the end of the season. We finished with a better record than last season but not as far up the league as I would have liked. We hit fourth place at one stage and picked up some fantastic results along the way. We did that throughout most of the season - we started off in the first and second quarter doing well in the league, we then did it in the FA Cup during the third and then picked up again in the league in the final quarter. If we had done it all in the league then we would have been further up the table and looking towards the play offs.

"There are many moments in the season that were big turning points for us. We brought in Lewin Nyatanga, Jon Macken and Anderson De Silva on loan and they did very well for us. We were in the top six and then lost Lewin and Jon back to Derby. We then lost Heinz Muller and Anderson and that rocked us. We lost four crucial players at crucial times of the season. For a club like ours to have four first team starters missing was always going to be tough. We found it hard to bounce back initially although we pulled things around. We did lose crucial players at crucial points of the season".

Simon added: "When you look back at the FA Cup you do not normally get the chance to pit your wits against the best teams in the world and we did that twice and came out on top. Those were very proud moments for Barnsley Football Club.

"I have never seen a dressing room as low as after that defeat at Wembley. That includes all my time as a player but walking in there was hard. You could have mopped up the tears. It was a surreal moment and difficult place to be. We made sure that we kept the squad together that night and brought their families down to the hotel. We all made sure we stayed together and talked together. I spoke to them and reminded them about their achievements last season. We still had six bigger games than Wembley to play. We had to lift them and get them back out against Watford. We had to win three out of the last six and we picked up two of those within a week.

"We have had a lot of praise from a lot of people since then after bouncing back in that way after such a defeat at Wembley. Losing at Wembley would have been easier if we had played badly. We were better than Cardiff; we created more chances and had more possession. It could only be destiny that we did not go on and get to the Final. We were the peoples' winners and everybody wanted us to lift the Cup after knocking out Liverpool and Chelsea. We had to stomach that defeat and make sure we bounced back against Watford.

He said: "We did well and beat most of the teams at the top of the table. There was only really Hull who did the double over us. That is a fantastic achievement and something we can take forward but we still ended up in the bottom half. That is how strong this division is and everybody else is improving as well. We have to make sure that improve with them again this summer.

"We set out to maintain Championship status and we did that. I would love to be higher up the table but an extra point or two would have lifted us three or four places higher and finishing 14th or 15th would not look as bad. I know and everybody knows that we have improved and I still believe that if we were not in the FA Cup all year then we would have finished much higher up the table. Staying in the division is an achievement but we were always good enough to do that and we would have liked to have been further up the table.

"You have to look at our goals for and goals against column to see where we need to improve next season. We have improved as a squad in every department. The players are better, our clean sheets are better and we have conceded less. We now have to make that next step and that involves scoring more goals. Whether that means a new striker or more goals from midfield and from the back is something we will look at that this summer. We have to concede less and improve our away record. These are basic things and we have to make sure we get better at them.

"We have to maintain our excellent home form but pick up more points on the road. A couple more wins and a few draws on our travels would have put us into the play offs.

"It has been common knowledge for a while that we have made Paul Reid, Andy Johnson and Kim Christensen available but we have also added Istvan Ferenczi and Sam Togwell to that list. We have players available for transfer and we have to make sure that we improve our squad this summer and unfortunately that will mean that people have to go out the other way. I have had to make those decisions. Paul, Andy and Kim have not featured this season and we have had to look at that. It would be better for all concerned if they move on and play. The same goes for Sam and Istvan and they have not been involved as much as they would have liked. It would not be fair to them to sit on the touchline for the next year when there are people in front of them. Sometimes players have to move for the sake of their own career and I have been honest with them all about that.

"I do not want to keep players here just to be a sub and maybe if we move some out we will be able to juggle our budget this summer and get other ones in. At the end of the day there are only eleven players who can go out in any game and I have to put a squad together that can move forward and improve us. It would not be fair of me to come out and publicly talk about improving as a squad but still keep these players at the club when they have not been involved. I am sure that they will all go on and have excellent careers elsewhere but it is not the right time for them here.

"Luke Steele will sign for us on June 21 and will be here permanently for next season. To be honest I am not too sure about Lewin Nyatanga at the moment. He has gone back to Derby County and they have come down now so we might have to wait and see on that. The deal is still there with Derby but there are ways to get out of it from both sides and at the end of the day it will come down to what the player wants to do.

"Hopefully we will have more players in and there is more money in the budget this summer to go and recruit. It has to be a bit of a juggle because we have to make sure that we do not spend our budget on the players we have here already. We want to go out and sign better players so we will have to balance what we spend on the squad we have. We want to enhance the squad by bringing in better players not just enhance the bank balance of the ones we already have. That is the balancing act I have this summer. We need to score goals and at this level that costs a lot of money. We will have to see what happens with that this summer. We need to score more goals and that could be from a striker who gets 20 goals or a couple of midfielders who can chip in with ten each. We will see what we can do this summer but we know that we have to improve".

Simon added: "Brian Howard has a year left on his contract and he has had a fantastic season for us. He has hit the winner at Anfield and was named in the Championship Team of the Season. Last summer he was out of contract and we managed to sign him again. Everybody is now talking about him going here, there and everywhere and Brian is an ambitious player but, like I have said in the past, we have not had any formal enquiries.

"I read things in the paper week in, week out that he is going here and there and it is becoming laughable every Sunday morning. Until a manager phones me and tells me that he is offering X amount for Brian Howard we will not discuss it. Who knows what will happen and sometimes people offer money that you cannot refuse but I do not know if we are in a situation like that and I will not know until - or if - I get a call.

"I would love Brian to be running out in a Barnsley shirt on August 9. You always want to keep your best players and to have a midfielder who has chipped in with 14 goals means I would be stupid if I said I wanted him to move on. You also have to be realistic and although every club in the country wants to keep hold of its best players, there is always a cheque somewhere that could land on your table. Everything is hypothetical because we have not had that telephone call and not seen that cheque so until we do we will plan for next season with Brian".

He said: "When you look at any Club and scrutinise their Academy or Centre of Excellence you always find that the percentages of players coming through are the same. You always get one per year who can make it into the first team and then hopefully can push on and be lucky enough to stay there. Sometimes youngsters get released and have to work their way back up through the lower leagues. This season we have had Jacob Butterfield in with the first team since day one of pre-season. I know all about Jacob from my time with the Academy and he has done well in his first year with the pros. His performance at Cardiff showed that he warrants his place in the first team squad. He has a lot to learn but will have a big part to play here.

"Sometimes you have to move players on if you are going to make sure your youngsters develop and come through. Andy (Johnson) is 33 and Sam (Togwell) is 23 - sometimes you have to make sure you develop your own talent and give the younger boy his opportunity by removing some of the obstacles he faces. Andy and Sam are still under contract and could still be here but if they could move on to another club it would pave the way for Jacob to have more of an opportunity to show his talents here.

"An Academy is just a word. I have worked in an Academy and worked in a Centre of Excellence and they are just youth departments. Players come through one year and then don't in another. Every club will have good years and barren years. This year we have Jacob Butterfield and Jamil Adam coming through and hopefully there will be more to follow".

Simon added: "We want year on year improvement. We have improved from the season before and want to do that again.

"We have to improve our standing in the division and make sure there is no way we are going into the last two games looking over our shoulder".