Lee Johnson takes on father Gary in a managerial battle tonight at Boundary Park as the Latics entertain Yeovil Town. It is only the second time that such a managerial duel has taken place in English football, the previous encounter being between Bill Dodgin and Bill Dodgin Jnr. back in 1969/70 when Bill senior managed Bristol Rovers and junior was in charge of Fulham.
To add spice to the affair, Lee's mother (Gary's wife) Karon will be sitting in the main stand and Lee said, "I haven't a clue who she will be supporting. I thought it would be me, but I would say that, wouldn't I? I am proud of him as a dad but, at the same time, there will be no love lost come 7:45pm tomorrow because it is such an important game for both clubs. There is no doubt it is tough playing for a team managed by your father. You have to have a strong personality to deal with it, both as the manager and the player. And I certainly wouldn't do it if I had a son. Together we were a good team and successful. It is only when it starts becoming unsuccessful or less successful does it become a problem. The records speak for themselves and maybe he helped me, but maybe I helped him. That is the million dollar question and history, but now we find ourselves competing against each other as managers."
"I know he is my dad, but he has done a fantastic job on one of the lowest budgets in the division and I wouldn't be surprised to see him nominated for one of the manager-of-the-year awards. It shows what you can achieve if you have energy and commitment and a team which is willing to run and work hard for each other. They have some really good players and he has them punching well above their weight and they are a model to follow for certain clubs because they have done very well."
"When my dad managed Cambridge United and I would be seven, eight, nine, ten years of age I would hide in the skip in the dressing room so I could listen to the team talks. Luckily they never caught me, but I was exposed to football management from a very young age. And even from that age, I always believed it was in my destiny to become a manager. I have been working towards it for a long time and been lucky to have a good mentor. Dad has been a manager for about 800 games in professional football and over 1,000 when you also take into account his time in non-league which for a manager is a very successful career. If I get half that number of games, I will have done well. The great thing about our family is that football is in the blood."