Ritchie got rid of the deadwood in the squad, and eyed young, hungry players to go out and do a job for him.
Out of Oakwell came the likes of Michael Boulding and Mark Stallard, and arriving are ex-Iron striker Paul Hayes – who Ritchie is placing every faith in, midfielder Richard Kell (who should be back from a broken leg by Christmas), Swindon winger Brian Howard and ex-Manchester United youth striker Danny Nardiello.
And Ritchie was delighted with Hayes' scoring debut in Saturday's win over Swindon.
He said: "His goal today great, the lad was pulling him back, he was off balance and he still managed to lob the ball into the net.
"I thought the two strikers worked in tandem very well, especially in the second-half with little step-overs and things like that."
The Tykes have a squad that should push for a play-off place and if all things go well you would expect them to. A lot rests on the shoulders of Hayes and Nardiello in attack, but one player already there who could play a key role is midfielder Stephen McPhail.
The ex-Leeds man has the potential to be a fantastic player at this level and Ritchie will be hoping he shows it.
Following Hayes and Kell's comments when they left the Iron, Tuesday's clash with the Tykes should have extra spice.