After chatting with the midfielder at the start of the season, the 'penny has dropped' with the Bristolian according to Michael Duff, who believes that the 24-year-old is now showing that he is not just a good player but a good footballer as well.

Bought in for a seven-figure fee in the autumn of 2020, Kane has been in pristine form in the Reds' regal recent seven-match unbeaten run and it is a case of long may it continue for Duff and co.

The Reds head coach said: "He's a good player. You don't get bought by Liverpool if they don't think you are a good player.

"We've had a few conversations with Herbie and I know the start of the season was a little bit disrupted by an injury he suffered at the end of last season.

"But with the couple of conversations we've had, the penny seems to have dropped. He's always been a good player, there's no getting away with that.

"Being a good footballer and good player are two different things. You hear young kids going: 'he's a player'. There's different things in terms of how you approach the game when you haven't got the ball - physically, mentality, all those types of things.

"They are the things he has really grasped. He is a tough little 'sod' and he trains properly and he will 'dig' people in training.

"I say it all the time, but if you train properly, it comes out on a Saturday and he epitomises everything we look for in the week.

"We have been absolutely delighted with Herbie, along with others. He is top-drawer."

Duff renews acquaintances with former Burnley team-mate Joey Barton this afternoon - and is expecting his Bristol Rovers side to possess traits that the midfielder possessed throughout his playing days.

Duff and Rovers chief Barton were colleagues during the Clarets Championship title-winning season in 201-5-16 and while Barton is viewed with scepticism in certain quarters, the Reds boss has nothing but kind words to say about him.

Duff said: "I played with Joey for a year and he was brilliant.

"It was the year we won the league. There's a lot of noise about Joey and everyone makes a lot of noise.

"But you treat people as you find them. He came into a set environment, which I think is important, and I think if you asked Joey, he absolutely loved his time at Burnley because the culture was set and he did what he does

"He was a very good player, a leader who was tough and demanding.

"I'd imagine he has taken all those traits into his management career as he got into management pretty early and he has had a pretty successful stint.

"I get on well with Joey. He's always good for a soundbite, I do know that!

"But he's gone down there and they have a way of playing and he seems to have the support of everyone at the football club.”

It is Barnsley's first game at the Memorial Stadium since a joyous end-of-season party there in 2018-19.

Bristol Rovers v Barnsley FC: The 'penny has dropped' with Herbie Kane says Michael Duff