MICHAEL Duff is looking forward to his testimonial game. But there is one curious caveat.

“I might not even be playing yet!” said the long-serving defender, with no hint of irony.

“I might have to ask for five minutes.”

It would be unusual for the subject of the testimonial not to be the star of the show.

But tomorrow’s visit of Bradford City is not an exhibition game or all-star XI type. With one week to go before the big kick-off it is about as serious as a non-competitive fixture gets.

It’s Burnley’s final scheduled friendly; the last chance for Clarets fans to see the players before the season begins with the early kick-off at Leeds United; the countdown to the Championship, when manager Sean Dyche will be formulating his first team plans.

With Jason Shackell gone there is a new central defensive partnership to find, and despite contributing to 10 Premier League clean sheets last season Duff knows there are no guarantees.

He has never taken anything in his career for granted. He is not about to start now.

“It’s nice of the club to offer me a game and I’m glad it’s a proper game as well,” said the centre half.

“There’s only a week to go so both teams will be going at it because people are playing for places.

“Sometimes testimonials can fizzle out to a bit of a nothing game, but that’s not happening. Once we get any hoo-ha out of the way at the start, there’s a proper game on.

“It’s the last pre-season game - we’ll be taking it seriously, they’ll be taking it seriously.

“Hopefully it will be an opportunity for people to see the new signings and it’s a last chance for people to see the team before the start of the new season.

“I’ll have a lot of family and friends there but it’s a proper game.”

Duff, whose children Tommy (7) and Jack (5) will be mascots along with their cousins Maisie (12) and Iggy (8), added: “I’m quite happy to walk out and crack on with the game, and hopefully play.

“I’ll have a lot of family and friends there, but it’s not about me. It’s nice of the club to offer it, and it’s nice if people turn up and hopefully support me but, more importantly, support the team, and get a feel of the team that could be playing this season and hopefully challenging up the league.”

Since arriving at Turf Moor in the summer of 2004 for the bargain price of £30,000 from Cheltenham, the Northern Ireland international has gone on to play at all eight levels of the football pyramid - from the Dr Marten’s Midlands League to the Premier League with just two clubs.

Duff is playing under his fifth Burnley manager (Steve Cotterill, Owen Coyle, Brian Laws, Eddie Howe, Sean Dyche).

He is one of only five players still playing professional football from Burnley’s starting XI in their 2008/09 play-off final win.

Promotion captain Steven Caldwell is the most recently retired, while Brian Jensen, Chris McCann and Steven Thompson are, like defender Duff - the eldest of that quartet - preparing for another campaign. Martin Paterson is in the throes of the MLS campaign on loan with Orlando.

Duff cherishes the memories from both of those seasons, and those dressing rooms, but said: “The difference between the two teams is night and day.

“I think we had five or six players over 30 in the ‘09 team.

“There was only Chris McCann with any sort of youth.

“With the team that got promoted last time I think I was the only one over 30.

“We did it completely differently. They were two different managers, two completely different ways of playing.

“The one abiding thing is they were two good dressing rooms. Most successful teams will tell you that they have good dressing rooms.

“The last time was probably a better team - the points tell you that more than anything.

“But there was maybe a little bit more flair in the other team.”

He added: “Bar the glory years in the 1960s, this has been the most successful period in the club’s recent history, and we’ve quashed a lot of hoodoos, monkeys off our back, like the Blackburn one - that would have grated on me if I’d been here 11-12 years and not beaten them, and it had gone from 25 to 38 years or whatever.

“That was a good one.

"Even in the Premier League, we beat the champions both times, and had some great nights, playing some good football.”

When Duff earned his first contract with Cheltenham at the age of 19, his goal was to get a Football League appearance under his belt.

He has played more than 350 games for the Clarets - 32 of those in the top flight.

But at 37 there is still more he wants to achieve.

“I still want to get back to the Premier League,” he said.

“That’s one thing I do believe in, the day you’ve got nothing to work for you might as well pack up.”

Duff will be recognised and celebrated for his loyalty and longevity tomorrow afternoon, but if he has his way, there will be plenty more to come.