Barnsley FC defender Robbie Cundy enjoying some home schooling under Michael Duff

The centre-back is clearly in need of a home but when he left Bristol City in the summer, he got more than that. With former defender Michael Duff as his coach, Oakwell has become a school for Cundy too.

"My goal this summer was to settle down," he admits. "I've been on loan everywhere but I've got a house now and I'm nice and settled in. When you're jumping around a little bit it's hard to gel but I'm going to be here for two years. It feels like home and I've got a lot more time with the lads."

It has allowed him to pay special attention to Duff's style of play.

"Different managers have different playing styles so it can be hard to adapt quite quickly but I think I got used to that," says Cundy. "I'm here for two years now and the gaffer's going to be here too. I like how he plays and we're all learning it very quickly. I think it's shown in our games. It's a bonus for a defender to have him as manager, especially because he was a centre-half. He's got a lot more knowledge than us boys, I guess.

"When I knew he was in with a shout of being manager here I was hoping he'd get it because I knew I'd be able to learn a lot from him. I'm looking forward to learning with him more."We've had a lot more meetings – well, us defenders have! – showing us clips of how the boys at the top do it and how well they do it and how we can put that into our game.

"He's spoken to us defenders a lot more than I've experienced in the past which is good for us because we want to learn and improve.

"After a game he won't scream and shout because he wants us to learn. I quite like that about him.

"We'll do analysis after the game and we'll have our clips on Hudl (a video system for reviewing footage) that we'll watch after the game. It's definitely a learning environment and I'm enjoying that. I feel like I'm improving, the defenders are improving and the team is, so hopefully that can just continue."