Kelly signing caused a stir

LIAM KELLY: international quality.

CAPTAIN Liam Kelly’s excellent form for Athletic will come as no surprise to observers in Scotland.

Manager Lee Johnson said the 24 year old could easily have moved from Bristol to Celtic or Rangers, substantially adding to his solitary international cap.

A move south to Ashton Gate saw Johnson’s former Kilmarnock teammate suffer a knee injury that badly stalled his career.

The Athletic boss admitted he took a risk to take him on at SportsDirect.com Park on a three-year deal - but it is paying off.

“We have to feed off certain circumstances,” Johnson said. “Taking Liam Kelly on a three-year deal could have been seen as a risk because he had just been out for a year and it was going to take him time to get back.

“The thing people forget about Liam is that he’s massive in Scotland. He was Scotland under-21 captain and Rangers and Celtic were all over him when he went to Bristol City.

“When we got Liam it didn't half raise a few eyebrows in Scotland because you’ve got an international who was involved in the squads even when he got injured.

“If I’m Scotland manager Gordon Strachan I'm thinking ‘how on earth have Oldham got Liam Kelly?’ because he was going to be in the plans to be in the next five or six squads, had he not been injured.”