Kelly takes aim at Swindon star

DUEL: Liam Kelly is expected to relish his clash with Massimo Luongo.

ATHLETIC captain Liam Kelly will be ready to do battle with one of the division's finest attacking midfield men tonight.

Manager Lee Johnson reckons Kelly will already know about £3.5million-rated Massimo Luongo of Swindon. His battle with the in-form Kelly at SportsDirect.com Park promises to showcase two of the finest midfield men in the league.

“I’m sure Liam Kelly will relish it,” said Johnson, whose side could move back to fifth tonight with three points.

“Luongo is a very good player; effective and smooth. But Kells is one of those players you don't want to go toe-to-toe with; he’s strong and takes the line of the ball, gets his shoulder in and is aggressive.

“If Luongo is not up for it then I am sure Kells will get the better of him.”

Johnson rates the midfield of second-placed Swindon as the best in League One.

But Athletic arguably had the better of the 2-2 clash at the County Ground earlier this season. Though the visitors are expected to keep the ball proficiently, Johnson says his side must be ready to exploit chances.

And he wants the fans to stay patient, too.

“Their 3-5-2 is a difficult system to play against when a team is good at it and they are, similar to Bristol City,” added Johnson, who adds a recovered Danny Philliskirk to the squad tonight.

“The key, not just for the players but for the crowd, is not to get demoralised when they have spells of possession. “They will have that - but it will give us a chance to exploit them on the break.”

Rhys Murphy could get a start tonight after impressing as a substitute at Scunthorpe.