Mellor can get us ticking - manager

OH YES! Athletic manager Lee Johnson celebrates a victory which boosts his team’s chance of npower League One survival.

Athletic manager Lee Johnson was beaming despite the rain after his men won a vital victory on Saturday — one that sealed hosts Bury’s relegation.

Matt Smith got the only goal of the contest after 79 minutes, connecting powerfully with a superb centre by fellow substitute Kirk Millar.

The game itself was far from pretty: Athletic were without suspended Jose Baxter and injured captain James Wesolowski. But the final result was all that mattered to Johnson.

“The first half wasn’t the best, was it?” said the manager. “But in the second half we had them on the rack. The substitutes made a difference and it was in the end a very, very good win.

“In the first half it probably felt like we were under more pressure than we actually were. We didn’t really penetrate quickly enough when breaking forward.

“I felt a bit sorry for Robbie Simpson and Lee Barnard, because they were in their best spell when I took them off.

“But I just felt Bury were flagging a little bit. That was the time to bring on fresh legs and go for it.”

Johnson praised the impact of David Mellor, who replaced Wesolowski, on only his second league start in more than a year.

And he was also felt that the travelling army of 2,073 Athletic supporters had an impact on proceedings.