DAVE Bassett is confident new loan signings Neil Maddison and Stuart Ripley can help Barnsley back into the top half of the table.

Things haven't gone well so far with Middlesbrough's Maddison making his debut in the defeat by Wimbledon on Sunday and Southampton's Ripley, despite scoring with his first touch to put ther Tykes ahead against Blackburn on Wednesday, also making a losing start.

But Bassett is convinced their experience will, eventually, have a positive effect.

"They've hardly trained with us," says the Oakwell boss, "At the moment the jigsaw is all over the place!"

It's the missing pieces that are causing Bassett most problems.

Losing Craig Hignett - sold to Blackburn for £2.25 million to balance the books - and long-time Wanderers' target Nicky Eaden - who left for Birmingham on a Bosman - was bad enough. But South African midfielder Eric Tinkler has been sidelined long-term, top scorer Neil Shipperley is out and Robin Van Der Laan joined the casualties when he limped out of the Blackburn game with a thigh strain.

But Bruce Dyer is back and Bassett hopes Darren Barnard (knee) and Matt Appleby (achilles) will be fit to return to a side that has won only one of their last six games.