MASSIMO Luongo does not believe it would helpful to read into Town’s previous games against Preston this season as a precursor to tomorrow’s big final.

Luongo was one of the many left at home as boss Mark Cooper took a radically-changed squad to Preston last month. Town lost 3-0 that day, with hotshot striker Joe Garner scoring all the goals.

More encouraging was Swindon’s 1-0 win at the County Ground back in November. That game was before North End made the key capture of Jermaine Beckford on loan from Bolton.

Luongo sees too many caveats when relating those games to tomorrow’s and believes the Wembley showdown bears little resemblance.

“I don’t think we can take much from our previous games with them. In the second game at their place, we rested a lot of players,” Luongo told the Advertiser.

“The first game was a long time ago, when a lot of teams are not at their best or have not quite sorted out a way of playing yet - as that can take about half a season to work out.

“I expect Wembley to be a much tighter game and Preston have been a quality side from the first time we played them at the County Ground. They are well-structured, well-organised and very direct, which is going to be a problem with the front players they have.

“We’ve come up against other tough teams like that but they’re probably going to be the toughest. Being at Wembley as well; I think it will bring out a really good side in us and we’re going to deal with it really well.”

Luongo added that victory at Wembley would be the icing on the cake for a team which has stuck together to reach the play-off final.

He said: “It would mean the world to us to secure promotion. We are a really close bunch and we all stick together and go out and eat together, so I see it as playing with a bunch of your mates on the biggest stage in England.

“If we can win, it would be unreal and we will all celebrate together but we just have to get there first and make sure that we are completely prepared.

“I’m keeping myself in the bubble at the moment and just worrying about the game. But walking about town, everyone is saying ‘good luck’. I think we have earned this over the whole season and now we just have to finish the job.”