SWINDON Town’s Massimo Luongo is delighted to be in the League One play-off final but is looking for a better performance from himself, according to his mentor David Magrone.
The Australian star is no stranger to performing on the big stages, having guided his national side to their Asian Cup success but has been less than impressed by his own performances since returning from Down Under.
Luongo, who has been the subject of much transfer speculation since his exploits with the Soceroos, has come in for some criticism from sections of the Town fans but Magrone is expecting the 22-year-old to show his class on the big stage.
“He is over the moon and it is all focus on Wembley now,” he said.
“I am not sure if he was still 100 per cent happy with his own personal performance in the two legged play-off game.
“He is obviously happy with the result and the role he played for the team but I think from an individual point of view he could have done a little bit more, which he is hoping to do at Wembley.
“You have got to try and combine his role in being responsible for the team as well as having an influence over the result of the football match.
“He feels like the last four games, that have been big stages for him on TV, he doesn’t believe that he has played his best.
“He hasn’t played badly but we both know that he can play a lot more and make a major impact on the game than what he did in those particular games.”
Magrone has been on hand to give the young midfielder advice ahead of his Wembley bow.
Despite more than 20,000 expectant Town fans predicted to make the trip to Wembley on Sunday, Magrone does not believe the player will be overawed by the occasion.
“I have told him ‘don’t play the occasion play the game’ because it can sap a lot of energy out of you pretty quickly if you let the occasion get to you,” he added.
“Especially at Wembley, there are plenty of people far more qualified than me that can confirm that.
“It is a big pitch and if you let the adrenaline get to you, you could be out of the game in 20 minutes.
“I said to him that he didn’t need to have any nerves because he has played on a bigger stage than this game this year.
“He is not worried about that, he doesn’t think that he will suffer from nerves, he just really wants to perform.”
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