ADAM HINSHELWOOD tagged Barnet as the ‘one of the best teams in the league’ ahead of their visit to York City tonight.
Barnet lead the way as the early Vanarama National League frontrunners, with the Bees winning seven of their last eight matches, accumulating 30 points from their opening 14 matches.
Dean Brennan’s side will travel to York following a surprise 4-3 defeat to Solihull Moors on Saturday, with Hinshelwood expecting a reaction from Barnet in midweek.
Hinshelwood credited City’s opponents for their impressive start to the National League season, and sees the Bees as a good test to see the progress of the Minstermen over the past eight months.
“It’s a big game, obviously Barnet are arguably one of the best teams in the league,” Hinshelwood lauded towards Tuesday’s opponents.
“Dean is probably 12 to 18 months further along with Barnet than what we are here, in terms of getting a team ready that can compete at the top end of the table.
“It will be an unbelievable test for us, they are a really good side with some really good individual players.
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“It’s two teams that play a similar brand of football and has all of the makings of a really good game, one that we will certainly look forward to.
“I’m not surprised at all [by Barnet’s start to the season], it will be a great test for us to see how far we have come and where we are.
“If you’re in and around Barnet by the end of the season, then you know that you have had a very successful season.
“It will be a great game for us to see where we are as a team and where individuals are, these are the games that we come to York City for, as a management team and the new players.
“To play in front of big crowds and in big games like this at the top end of the division, is something to look forward to.”
Hinshelwood also expects a reaction from a Barnet side that suffered a fourth defeat of the season on Saturday against Solihull Moors, comparing the Bees to that of Aldershot Town, who were able to hold City to a 0-0 draw during a sticky spell of form.
The boss added: “It is similar to Aldershot, both teams will try to win the game on the day and they will be no different.
“They will obviously be keen to put the wrongdoings of Saturday right and they have a manager that will demand those standards from them, we might get them at a bad time really.
“What a test for us though, they are a bit further along and have a bit more knowhow than us in this league at this moment, but it’s a great test for us all the same.”
Barnet manager Brennan has built a reputation of being an animated character on the sidelines, with the opposing boss being very vocal towards his side during matches.
Hinshelwood hasn’t quite reached the same levels of volume when speaking to his team from the dugout, and gave his opinion on manager’s actions when on the sidelines.
“I always seem to lose my head on the sidelines!” Hinshelwood laughed.
“It’s more with my team and the standards that I’ve set, and that they have set really over the last few weeks.
“We try to keep those standards high, try not to get too involved with the opposition and focus solely on what we can affect, the tactics of our team.”
