BARNSLEY'S new boy David Tuttle believes he is facing a major challenge - and he is not simply talking about taking on Blackburn Rovers' latest striking acquisition Egil Ostenstad at Ewood tomorrow.

Snapped up from crisis club Crystal Palace for a bargain £125,000 this week, the central defender reckons he has a major task on his hands just to get into the Barnsley side.

That might surprise some people as The Tykes have lost two out of two since the season kicked off.

And, having seen his team leak six goals in those games - one of them against Palace - Barnsley boss Dave Bassett has acted quickly to plug the gaps.

So, after going for a player he knows well from their time together at both Palace and Sheffield United, Bassett is unlikely to leave him kicking his heels on the sidelines.

Selhurst's massive financial problems meant that Tuttle was able to be prised away for a quarter of the fee his new/old boss was prepared to pay for him when he was in charge of Nottingham Forest.

There have also been reports that the player waived certain payments he was owed in order to smooth the way for his departure.

That's how keen he was to come North to join a club he rates as capable of challenging the more fancied sides.

A Bassett man through and through, Tuttle obviously believes he will get his rewards at Oakwell if he can force his way into the side and he intends to do that from day one.

"It would be nice to get out there against Blackburn," he said. "But there are some good central defenders here. It's going to be up to me to work hard through the week and get into the side.

"In this division, you have got to fancy Blackburn and Charlton and there is also Wolves and Birmingham too.

"But if we can start to get a run together, we will be up there.

"I have worked with Dave Bassett before and he can get players working well.

"Obviously I know how he likes the game to be played and I am looking forward to starting again with him."

Tuttle, who is expected to replace either Adrian Moses or Scott Jones in tomorrow's Barnsley side, was not surprised when Bassett moved in to make it three different clubs at which they have worked together.

"I knew about a month ago," said the man who figured in around half of Palace's First Division games last season.

"There were little bits and pieces in the newspapers about Barnsley.

"At first last Saturday, I thought I was going there (to Oakwell) to play for Crystal Palace.

"But Steve Coppell told me I wasn't travelling with the team. So I figured I might be on my way to Barnsley permanently."

It might seem a sideways move but Tuttle has belief in Bassett as well as his new club and feels the move is timely.

"Everybody needs a fresh start in different parts of their career and hopefully this is going to work out well for me," he added.

"There is a good squad here and we can do better than we have done so far."

al a little longer.

Rovers will be looking to delay that hoped-for revival a little longer as they need to begin one of their own.

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