NIGEL Clough has praised the contribution made by Shaun Barker last season after the defender signed a new six-month deal.
The former Derby County player made his comeback from long-term injury against the Rams at the start of last season and went on to make telling contributions from the bench as well as an impact in the dressing room.Clough said: "We are delighted that Shaun is with us for another six months at least and we will review it after that. Although people will say he doesn't start games, he still plays an important role. In his first game he came on against Derby and headed a corner away and stopped them scoring. If he hadn't of done that we could have been relegated.
"He saw the Norwich and Rotherham games through and if he hadn't we could have been relegated. But on top of that people don't see his influence in the dressing room which is magnificent - add to that the time he gets on the pitch and it's a very important role he plays."
The manager is also delighted that Lloyd Dyer has signed a new one-year-deal.
Clough said: "He scored seven goals from a wide position and said himself that he should have had double figures.Â
"The fact that he didn't do a full pre-season probably caught up with him around Christmas but he came back again towards the end.Â
"Although he's 35 in September his athleticism and football intelligence will keep him playing at this level."