SIMON Ferry is looking forward to coming face to face with a former partner in crime when Swindon Town entertain Brentford this evening.

The Scotsman is set to line up against ex-Robins captain Jonathan Douglas, who is now with the Bees after a two-year spell in Wiltshire which took in a League One play-off final and relegation to the bottom tier of the Football League.

Douglas and Ferry produced a formidable partnership in the middle of midfield when Town finished fifth in 2009/10, but the duo were broken up for much of the following campaign to accommodate David Prutton and many fans associate their separation as a major factor behind Swindon’s decline.

Tonight marks the first occasion the old teammates have come up against each other in a competitive environment, and Ferry can’t wait to get involved.

“I’ve not spoke to Dougie for a while but obviously in my first year here he and I played in the middle and I really enjoyed it,” he said.

“It will be good to see him again.

“When I first came I’d not played a game and I played next to Dougie and he did help me quite a lot.

“We had a good partnership and he did help and I enjoyed playing with him.

“I’ve never really played against him so I’m not too sure what will happen but we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.

“I remember how Dougie plays and I’m sure he’ll remember how I play so it should make for quite an interesting battle.”

Meanwhile, Ferry is keen not to play down Town’s achievements in reaching third place in League One with more than a third of the season gone.

Manager Paolo Di Canio has continually tried to stem expectations in recent weeks but Ferry is happy to think about what might be if everything goes to play for the remainder of the campaign.

“You’ve got to look at it positively, we’re third in the table,” he said. “In the last month our performances have picked up and with the squad of players we’ve got we should be up there.

“I don’t see any reason if we don’t work hard why we shouldn’t be up there.

“Every game feels like it’s going to be massive. We’re nearly halfway through the season and you see in December and January where teams are going to be and what they’re going to be fighting for come the end of the season.

“It’s a crucial period for us and we know that.”