Farah relishing Bekele clash at Aviva Grand Prix

EUROPEAN indoor 3000m champion Mo Farah has laid down the gauntlet to rival Kenenisa Bekele ahead of their clash at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham later this month.

RECORD BREAKER: Mo Farah hopes competing against Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele will inspire him to another British record (Getty Images)

The 26-year-old set the 3000m British indoor record of 7:34.47 minutes en route to gold in the event last year but will need to overcome the triple Olympic champion if he is to repeat that feat this time around.

Ethiopia's Bekele won double gold at Beijing 2008 in the 5000m and 10000m events and followed that up with the 5000m title at the World Championships in Berlin last year.

But Farah is hoping a successful showing against his rival will be the perfect preparation for the World Indoor Championships in Doha next month.

"I'm looking forward to competing in Birmingham," said Farah. "It will be great to get on the track again alongside the best in the world and benchmark myself against them to gauge my potential performance in Doha.

"There is always such a fantastic atmosphere in Birmingham and the crowd really spur you on which is really important in long distance.

"I have a bit of a soft spot for the NIA since my performance last year. Breaking the British record there was fantastic and I would love to get close to that again, if not beat it.

"Bekele is always mentioned as the man to beat, and it's fantastic to be able to pit myself against him with the hope being that I can give him a good challenge.

"I have great respect for him but at the end of the day he is just another opponent who I want to beat."

The Aviva Indoor World Trials and UK Championships take place in Sheffield on February 13 and 14 before the Aviva Grand Prix at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham on February 20.