Matt Duke has had much better Saturdays than the last one.

The experienced keeper came in for public criticism from Phil Parkinson over Cheltenham’s soft winner.

Duke has been around long enough to know there is no escape when the guy between the posts makes an error.

He issued an instant apology to his City team-mates in the dressing room as Parkinson kept them locked in for an hour.

But Duke knew he was assured of one sympathetic ear. Kevin Pressman, the club’s goalkeeping coach, has been there before.

It’s a support that Duke appreciates. They may come from across the Sheffield divide – Duke is a born and bred Blade while Pressman enjoys legendary status at Wednesday – but there is a common bond.

“You need a coach to come in and push you on days when you may not feel like it,” said Duke. “And it’s always good to have somebody to talk to after the game.

“We discuss the goals and where you could have done better. It’s nice to be able to have that conversation with someone who’s been a goalkeeper at the highest level.

“Kevin’s good at talking things through and he can relate exactly to what you are thinking.

“I had the chance to go somewhere in the summer where I could have been a goalkeeper coach but I didn’t think it was for me yet.

“But I can appreciate what an important role it is. It’s good to have Kevin giving his opinion. His sessions are good and we get on well.”

Surprisingly, the Steel City connection has stayed off the agenda. As City’s focus turns to Bramall Lane tonight and a timely diversion from the league, Duke admits the banter with his training-ground boss has been low key.

“There’s not really been any stick just yet. I’ll probably wait until United beat them in the derby next time!

“I was with United for most of the summer. If things had worked out different I might have signed for them.

“They wanted to (do a deal) but the financial situation at the club couldn’t make it happen. They had to get people out first before anything could be done.

“I knew that and was okay. But I needed to train somewhere as well so it was good for me to keep my fitness up by working there.”

The televised clash with the Blades gives City the chance to flush Saturday straight out of the system. Duke, whose position could be under threat from Jon McLaughlin, believes the JP Trophy has gone down well with fans.

He added: “You look back to the Huddersfield game and how pleased our fans were with that. The Johnstone’s Paint gets criticised but one good thing about it is that you get local teams playing against each other.

“We’ve had some good cup draws playing against Wednesday, Huddersfield and obviously another big club tonight. It’s another good game for the players and fans to get excited about.”

The Cheltenham defeat was a jolt to everyone’s system coming straight after City’s ten men had defiantly foiled Swindon.

Up until the weekend, the defence had been showing signs of becoming a solid unit.

Duke certainly feels that, Saturday apart, City have been keeping firmer control on the backdoor.

“We’ve definitely tightened up as a whole. What we’ve done on the training ground working as a unit has shown itself in games.

“But you’ve got to make sure you keep doing that every game.

“It’s taken me between six to ten games to get that feeling of being up to speed.

“Sometimes people come in and everybody gels together straight away. But this has taken a little bit more time.

“You’ve got to get used to the players around you and sometimes that can be a bit of a longer process than you would like.

“It’s a continual thing and hopefully the more games that come along the better.”