The Reds, knocked out of the Papa John's Trophy in midweek, are intent upon avoiding a second exit in a knock-out competition in the space of three days and with good reason.

Should the Oakwell outfit take their place in the third-round draw on Monday evening, then the tantalising prospect remains that they could land a money-spinning tie against Premier League opponents.

Prize money for second-round winners is £67,000, but that could be small beer if a lower-league side land a plum tie early in the new year.

Duff said: "With the size of the squad we have got at the minute, the perfect scenario is that you win this game and draw a massive team away from home, give a good performance and get knocked out and then you have got more money to sign players and you don't have a backlog of fixtures.

"Football does not ideally work out like that, so first and foremost, we need to win on Saturday.

"But it probably will have an impact on what business we can do in January, in terms of having a cup run."

Two seasons ago, Duff was left to rue a particularly painful second-round moment and it was thankfully assuaged just over 12 months later.

He added: "The second round is a difficult one. It's always 'what if?'

"There's an opportunity to go and draw a big team. It's the worst feeling in the world (if you lose).

"I had it a couple of years ago. We (Cheltenham) actually got beaten by Port Vale in round two and they went onto draw Man City and you are spewing.

"Ironically, the year later in the competition, we went and drew City (in round four).

"But it's 'don't pass the opportunity by'.

"Quite often, the tagline before a meeting in the second round is 'have no regrets.'

"It will be tough, but it is a home game and we are on a good little run and if we keep the momentum going and performances, that's the main thing and hopefully that will give us the result.”

Barnsley v Crewe: FA Cup progress will determine transfer window plans, says Michael Duff