and that I will be given time to do that, at what is a fantastic club". As their season came to a close, the Latics ended the season on a 10-game unbeaten run, which saw the club finish fifteenth, two points short of the top–half of the table, making this the club's best finish for the side since the end of the 2008–09 season under John Sheridan. During the first half of the 2014–15 league campaign, Johnson led his side to the top ten of the league, which soon saw his name emerge with links to a variety of clubs. Barnsley On 25 February 2015, Johnson was appointed as the new head coach of fellow EFL League One club Barnsley, after an undisclosed compensation package was agreed between the Tykes and Oldham Athletic for the services of Johnson and his assistant Tommy Wright. His first match in charge was a 1–0 victory at Gillingham, three days after his appointment. Despite taking over the club whilst they sat sixteenth and were underachieving, Johnson guided the club to an eleventh-placed finish, after their form resulted in them picking up five victories, six draws and three defeats. During his first full season in charge, Johnson had Barnsley in mixed form prior to the new year period, picking up ten victories out of a possible thirty, including an eight-game losing streak. However, 2016 saw Barnsley achieve a seven-game winning streak which moved the side higher up the league positions. Johnson's name emerged as many club's targets to fulfil their managerial posts, and by the time he left Barnsley, the club were sat twelfth, a huge improvement on them sitting twenty-second in the table in November. He had also led the club to the EFL Trophy final, in which his successor Paul Heckingbottom managed to claim the cup win. He left Barnsley on 6 February 2016. Bristol City On 6 February 2016, Johnson was appointed as the new manager of relegation-threatened Championship club Bristol City, signing onto a three-and-a-half-year deal, after an undisclosed compensation fee was agreed between the Robins and Barnsley. Under Johnson's management, City went on to record several victories during their sixteen games in the league, eventually finishing a comfortable twelve points above the relegation zone in eighteenth place. Despite the loan signing of Tammy Abraham, who scored 26 goals for the club in the 2016–17 season, City remained in the relegation