Jordan Clark says Luton Town will travel to League One leaders Huddersfield Town full of confidence as they look to extend their winning run to five matches, despite illness affecting several members of the squad.
The Hatters have won four successive league games, taken five victories from their last six and climbed from the bottom half of the table into the play-off places for the first time in 455 days.
Tonight’s trip to the Accu Stadium represents a major test of that momentum, with Huddersfield still setting the pace at the top of the division, five points ahead of the Hatters and boasting the best goalscoring record (27) in the division, though Town are joint second with 26 strikes.
But Clark, who scored in Saturday’s 2-0 victory at Peterborough United having recovered from the illness that kept out out of the 3-1 victory over Doncaster, says Luton are relishing the challenge.
“The games are coming thick and fast now,” Clark told LTFC+, adding: “We’ve got a lot of lads in there struggling with illness and stuff. So we’ve got to rest up and go again. It’s the nature of the beast in this league and it’s relentless and top of the league, Huddersfield are flying but obviously we’re going to relish it.
“We’re in a good vein of form and we’ll go there full of confidence and look to take it to them and, fingers crossed, we can win the game.”
Captain Kal Naismith was absent from the Peterborough game with illness while his replacement, Joe Johnson, and Isaiah Jones have also been suffering though they battled through Saturday’s victory.
“We’ve got a lot of illness in the camp, which I’m not using any excuse, but, lads in there [dressing room], four or five boys who played were really struggling. So, full credit to them to get through the game. We just need to recover now and go again.”
Luton’s best league run for seven years has transformed their league position, although Clark knows how quickly things can change in League One, where a handful of results can send a team shooting up or tumbling down the table.
“In this league, you win three or four, you get into the play-offs, or you lose three or four, and you you’re looking down the bottom, near the bottom three,” he told the BBC, adding: “We’re not focusing on that. I think we’ve done that in the past, maybe thinking we can win as many games as we can.”
Asked what had changed to help spark the improvement, Clark pointed to the timing of October’s three-week international break and some stability in manager Jack Wilshere’s team selections.
“I think the international break came a good time for us,” said the midfielder, adding: “I think maybe keeping a settled team. Obviously, it’s disappointing for lads who are not playing, but when the teams winning it’s hard to get into the team. You’ve got to try and keep that continuity.
“You look at every team in the league that’s doing really well, you could probably name eight nine, ten of the starting 11.
“So, full credit to the boys in the last five or six games, they’re keeping the shirt. And it’s down to the boys in training to train well and then when you do come on, give the manager something to think about, but I’d say a settled 11, that’s probably been the key factor.”
Victory at Huddersfield would take Luton’s winning sequence to five league matches and move them to within two points of the Terriers, their best run since they won League One as champions to secure promotion to the Championship in 2019.
Podcast preview – Can Luton silence the league leaders?
The Hatters face their toughest test of the season so far tonight as they travel to take on table-topping Huddersfield Town.
Can Jack Wilshere’s side take the game to the Terriers? Could we see a change of formation? And just how dangerous are the league leaders?
They Tried To Kill Us Off podcast, featuring The Lutonian writer James Cunliffe, gets stuck into the big talking points, tactical possibilities, score predictions and, naturally, the great chips and gravy debate!
Watch the full preview here 👇
Be the first to comment