Bohs lie eighth on 17 points, while Tommy Dunne’s Tribesmen are five points ahead in fifth.

Long said: “Galway are ahead of us but we’re looking upwards now. We want to hit the ground running.

“Confidence is high and if we play to our strengths, we can move up the table.

“It’s important we get off to a good start. We were slow starting after the mid-season break last year – that can’t happen again.”

The last time these sides met marked a turnaround in Bohs’ season.

Having lost 1-0 to Galway at Eamon Deacy Park in April, Bohs made amends with a crucial 2-0 victory in the cup at Dalymount Park last month.

That win ended a run that had seen Bohs fail to win or score in seven games in all competitions.

Long added: “It was a huge game for us as our league form wasn’t great going into that game.

“You can see how much confidence the players took from that result. We’ve done very well since, but this will be a different game.”

Bohs welcome back Paddy Kavanagh (ankle) and Ayman Ben Mohamed (international duty). But Jake Kelly (shoulder) remains unavailable.

Goalkeeper Shane Supple joins the squad having been signed from Crumlin Utd, but defender Paul Rooney has left to join Millwall.

Meanwhile, due to a clash with St Patrick Athletic’s Europa League game, Tuesday’s ‪Leinster Senior Cup final between Bohemians and Wexford Youths has been postponed.

Long said: “Our performances have improved over the last few weeks. But we won’t be getting ahead of ourselves by saying we’ve turned a corner just yet.

“Nobody would have ever expected us to beat St Pat’s 5-1 and, along with the two cup ties, we do come into the game with a bit of form now.

“We showed on Sunday that there are goals in this team. We hit St Pat’s early, we were really effective and made the most of our chances. But it’s a different game tomorrow and it will be extremely tough.

“We have to ensure we reproduce that intensity and tempo again so we can build on our recent form.”

First Division champions Wexford Youths have proved difficult opponents this season.

League leaders Dundalk needed an injury-time winner against them last Sunday, while the Youths claimed a notable scalp by beating Shamrock Rovers three weeks ago.

Long added: “It’s going to be tough. Wexford Youths have been very difficult opposition for every team so far in the division and will perhaps feel they should have more points in the board.

“The core of the team has been together a long time and Shane Keegan has made some subtle additions along the way.

“We were lucky to get away with a 3-3 draw when we played them earlier in the season, they ran Dundalk so close last week and they’ve beaten Rovers too.

“It will be difficult, but if the team can match the performances of recent weeks, we will give ourselves every chance.”

Mark Quigley is available for selection again after serving a suspension against St Pat’s.

But Jake Kelly (shoulder) faces four to six weeks on the sidelines, while Paddy Kavanagh (ankle) and Jason Caffrey (ankle) are both ruled out.

Also unavailable is Ayman Ben Mohamed due to his involvement with the Tunisian national team, while Dylan Hayes (calf) is a doubt.

Meanwhile, the Leinster Senior Cup final between Bohemians and Wexford Youths has been confirmed for Tuesday June 28, Dalymount Park, 7.45pm.

“We played very well against Galway. The most important thing was to get through to the next round but it was a very good team performance and we fully deserved to win.

“We had injuries coming up to the game and then more during it, but thankfully that didn’t stifle us.

“We followed that up against UCD too. The Leinster Senior Cup isn’t top of clubs’ priorities but it’s nice to get into the final.

“The most pleasing aspect was the manner of our performance, particularly our passing game in the second half, which bounces us on now into Sunday’s game.”

Both victories came at a price – all three of Bohs’ substitutions against Galway were enforced by injury.

Goalscorer Paddy Kavanagh (ankle), Jake Kelly (hamstring) and Derek Pender (quad) made way for Keith Buckley, Mark Quigley and Stephen Best respectively.

Quigley in turn was forced off in the first half against UCD with a knee injury and replaced by Ayman Ben Mohamed, who misses Sunday’s game and next Friday’s game against Wexford Youths due to his involvement with the Tunisia national team.

Kavanagh and Quigley remain sidelined through injury, but both are suspended for Sunday’s game anyway. There was better news for Bohs’ other walking wounded, who have all been passed fit to play.

Long said: “Paddy will be touch and go for the Wexford Youths game next week too. We mightn’t see him again until after the mid-season break.

“The good news is the damage to his ankle wasn’t as bad as we feared and we hope to have him back training next week.

“Jake and Derek are available for selection as is Lorcan Fitzgerald, who missed the Galway game with a hamstring injury.”

Those injuries allowed others to stake their claim for a starting place. Fitzgerald’s withdrawal saw Dylan Hayes drafted in at right-back against Galway, with skipper Pender moving to left-back.

With those three full-backs available for Sunday, Long is happy to have a selection headache.

He added: “When Derek was injured last season, Dylan came into the team and showed what he is capable of in the last series of games.

“Dylan’s unassuming, good on the ball and a tigerish tackler too. I’m happy for him as he has been training very well.

“He is pushing Derek the whole time and has been unlucky not to have forced his way in until now.

“Stephen Best, James Kavanagh and Paul Rooney all started against UCD too and gave good performances, so we do have options.”

“If we can reproduce the performance from down in Sligo last week but take our chances this time, then I am confident we can get the victory.”

Long was once again left frustrated as Bohs passed up several gilt-edged opportunities in last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat away to Sligo Rovers to end their barren run.

He said: “It’s too easy to say we were unlucky. It’s more than luck, so we can’t play the luck card.

“We played well and with a high tempo but we are not being ruthless enough. We had at least a half-dozen clear-cut chances, not just half-chances.

“On another night, with the amount of chances we passed up, we would have won the game comfortably.

“Obviously we were disappointed with the goal we conceded too, but ultimately we have to stop being so wasteful in front of goal. It’s as simple as that.”

Bohs’ selection options have been limited by the decision of Anto Murphy to leave the club due to family and work commitments.

Long said: “Anto has been a great servant for the club for several years. It’s disappointing, he will be a big loss.

“We will have to wait until July before we can strengthen our squad but I have a few irons in the fire.”

One major doubt for Friday’s game is Derek Prendergast, who was forced off against Sligo with a hamstring injury.

Jason Caffrey (hamstring) has returned to full training after a long lay-off but will not be risked against Galway.

Bohs will be without striker Mark Quigley, who is suspended after his red card in Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat to Cork City.

But the Gypsies’ options up front have been boosted by the return of Ismahil Akinade, who had been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Akinade featured as a substitute against Cork and is in contention for a starting place for the first time in four weeks.

Long said: “Izzy hadn’t been right for a few weeks so we needed to give him time to recover. He offers us a different dimension to our play and a different dynamic up front.”

Bohs’ bid to end their barren run saw Jake Kelly and Kurtis Byrne restored to the starting line-up against Cork City.

Long said: “We tried to bring some positivity to our attacking play by bringing in Jake and Kurtis in central areas. There were positive signs early on in the game with good movement and interchanging of positions but we lacked end product.

“We conceded a poor goal at a bad time and we allowed Cork see out the game far too comfortably.

“We were the home team and we should have been bringing the game to them after we conceded but we didn’t do that, which is disappointing.”

A Kurtis Byrne wonder goal gave Bohs a 1-0 victory against tomorrow’s opposition the last time the sides met.

But Dave Robertson’s men are a much-improved side since. Before Tuesday’s defeat away to Shamrock Rovers, the Bit O’Red had won their previous three games in a row.

Long added: “I’ve been very impressed with Sligo any time I’ve seen them. They will be playing with real confidence, despite the result in Tallaght.

“But we have to concentrate on our own performances. We are not a million miles off getting it right and with a little more belief and hard work we can improve our league standing”

Bohs are without Quigley (suspended) and Jason Caffrey (hamstring). Ayman Ben Mohamed (groin) is a doubt.