LJ: We’re in this together

COLLECTIVE responsibility is the key phrase for Athletic as they aim to turbo-charge the play-off push by beating Yeovil.

James Wilson and Mike Jones return for the crunch clash as Lee Johnson aims to get one over his dad to pick up three points which would keep up the pressure on rivals for a top-six place in Sky Bet League One.

While pleased to have that key duo back in the fold after suspension and illness respectively, Johnson says the idea that Athletic rely heavily on certain individuals is one he wants to banish from his players’ minds.

He also stressed that the Glovers, whose away record is superior to form at home, won’t come to simply roll over at SportsDirect.com Park on Saturday.

And a return to the sort of high-tempo, energetic game which blew Bradford away in the opening stages of the last league win at home is a goal Athletic must strive for.

“It’s a massive game for us, albeit not one that is the be-all and end-all,” said the manager, who joked that there has been “skulduggery, deceit and mind games” between him and his father, Yeovil boss Gary Johnson, this week.

“They have picked up a lot, recently, and it is a tough game. It really is.

“What we must do is make sure that we play at a higher tempo than we did against Doncaster on Saturday.

“We are going strong in the league and we have a couple of players back. So we enter the game in a position of strength.

“We are still a work in progress. I talked with Carl Winchester this week and he said he felt that he had to be the best player on the pitch just to stay in the team.

“I told him that isn’t the case. It is about 17 or 18 players all sharing that load and driving us forwards.”

Athletic’s players were back in for training this morning after the usual rest day.

On Monday, the squad assembled at 7.30am to watch the Doncaster game back before breakfast and then had two training sessions either side of a weights work-out, as Johnson dished out what he referred to after the Rovers game as “punishment”.

Genseric Kusunga sat out the day with a slightly tightened hamstring and Joseph Mills suffered a whack to the back of his ankle against Rovers, but neither is a doubt for Yeovil.