Barnsley FC's play-off expert Herbie Kane sees right qualities in Michael Duff's Reds

And the midfielder sees good qualities in Michael Duff's Reds as they head to Oxford United for the first of two big away games in a week.

Like Saturday's hosts Portsmouth, Karl Robinson's Oxford have disappointed this season but know their way around League One. Their recent win over Ipswich Town was a reminder never to under-estimate them.

Kane was able to tap into that knowledge when he played for the Us on loan last season, a campaign where they fell short just before the end of an extremely tight race for the play-off places.

Not that he did not have his own to call on already, as a Liverpool player on loan at Doncaster Rovers in the 2018-19 play-offs and a Barnsley player in the 2020-21 Championship version.

Kane is clever enough not to over-think things. When Barnsley loaned him to the Us last season he did not read too much into it, but it was an experience he really enjoyed.

"Football can change very quickly so I didn't really have a plan either to come back or leave," he says. "It's just one of those things I wanted to do and it was the best thing for me.

"Before I went there I'd probably had a few managers where I wasn't enjoying the way they were playing or the amount of game-time so it was good to go there and get back to enjoying my football like I do now.

"You want to play as much as you can. It is important and going to Oxford was probably the right decision. I enjoyed my time there."

As for the lessons he learnt for this season, Kane says: "You need experience when you're in this position but there's still plenty of time left this season and we've just got to make sure we're taking the games as they come and making sure we're winning."

In Duff, Kane thinks Barnsley have a manager with the right mentality for them.

They recently lost three games in a row but recognising there was more to it, Duff as usual did not over-react and Barnsley got back on the horse with victory at home to Accrington Stanley.

"As players we knew we didn't deserve some of the results that happened but it's football and we knew we had to brush them off and just stay level-headed and move onto the next game," argues Kane.

"When you win you can't over-react so you park it up. Whether we win, lose or draw you've got to focus on the next one."

It is, in all honesty, the only way Duff can be.

"We know what we are," he says.

"If we take our chances in the first 20 minutes of the Charlton game, I think it pans out completely differently. You could say the same thing about Derby.

"The last 20 minutes of the Derby game wasn't good enough but you wouldn't believe it was the same team only an hour apart because we started well in the game and just needed to be a little bit more ruthless, a little bit more clinical.

"But we'd just come off the back of two months unbeaten and we didn't think we were brilliant then.

"It's trying to keep the outside noise out. It's just something that happens in football now, the noise comes quickly, good or bad, and it's just keeping yourself grounded, recognising where we are.

"Do we think we're a top two club at the minute? No. Can we compete at that end? No, but it doesn't mean we can't have a go, and that's what we intend to do."

Wednesday's match is a game in hand for Barnsley on all the top-half teams. Having seen their match at home to Sheffield Wednesday last weekend postponed because of the Owls’ FA Cup run and the game at Exeter City before that because of a frozen pitch, Kane and co are just eager to get back into action.

Asked what he was expecting from the game, Kane replies: "High tempo, they'll be on the front foot. It'll be a tough game but one we're looking forward to.

"It feels ages since we've played a league game but the lads are excited and ready for a big week. We're really excited for these games."

Duff can sense the hunger.

"Players always want to play,” he says. “As a staff sometimes you want to train so you can work on things and implement different things you see in some of the games."We've got two tough away games against teams you would probably say have under-achieved. Both will think they have a chance of putting a run together and coming for a late run into the play-offs given the size of the two clubs and the quality they've got."

Hull City striker Tyler Smith could make his Oxford debut after joining on loan on Tuesday, whilst Barnsley are set to be without the injured Matty Wolfe (knee) and Aiden Marsh (hamstring).

Last six games: Oxford United LLWWLL; Barnsley WLLLWD

Referee: L Swabey (Devon)

Last time: Oxford United 2 Barnsley 2, January 29, 2019, League One