Jacob Butterfield believes Luton should have nothing to fear in the Championship after playing well in each of their three games so far, despite one draw and two losses.
The first 45 minutes against West Brom on Saturday was arguably Town’s best this term as they dominated a team, tipped for promotion, and peppered with internationals.
Butterfield was integral to the Hatters commanding 63 per cent possession last week at Cardiff and in a promising first half against the Baggies, with Harry Cornick getting the goal that their attacking intent deserved.
But that good work was dashed straight after the interval when Grady Diangana bagged a three-minute double to send Luton to their first home defeat in league competition for 17-months.
It was the second successive game that a debutant had come off the bench to hurt the Hatters after former player Isaac Vassell consigned them to defeat in injury time at Cardiff.
Butterfield said: “It’s a disappointment in terms of the result but in all three league games so far we’ve played against some big clubs that have all been in the Premier League very recently.
“For spells in each game we’ve been the better team. We should have absolutely nothing to fear in this league. I think we’ve shown that in three very tough first three games, but some of the football we’ve played, some of the performances – the first half (against West Brom) has been the best so far – we have nothing to fear.
“We need to take confidence from that, learn from the mistakes – we need to do some things better – but also look at the positives.”
One of those is that Luton are scoring goals, with Cornick’s towering header their eighth of the campaign, all netted by different scorers.
Butterfield, who joined in the summer after being released by Derby, said: “We’re a good team, we need to belief that. Maybe teams will think, coming here (Kenilworth Road), let them play out, but we caused them that many problems they had to change at half time.
“We need to think that teams aren’t just going to let us play. They’re going to address things, change things, make subs and we need to recognise that and maybe be mature enough to make decisions on the pitch.
“We need to keep our identity. We are a team that plays with the ball on the floor. We want to play out from the back, we don’t want to just kick it, hit and hope football.
“We want to play with thought and purpose but, at the same time, we need to learn to react to different situations in games. Maybe manage the games a bit better, but still stick to what we are.”
