Former Hatters manager John Still has delivered a rousing rallying call for Luton supporters to revive the club’s Conference conquering spirit and give it “everything” to inspire Town to a Championship great escape.
The Hatters currently sit in the bottom three, five points from safety and staring at a second successive relegation, after dropping out of the Premier League last term.
That campaign marked the end of a record-breaking ten year cycle of success that was begun by Still when he guided the club out of their five-year non-league hell and back to the Football League in 2014.
Still had arrived at a club with a disgruntled and disconnected fanbase, but he is credited as the manager that helped unite the club, the players and the supporters, steering them to a 100-point, 100-goal Conference title triumph.
Still returned to Kenilworth Road last week as the special guest of the Luton Town Supporters’ Trust and he spoke about his time at the club in a nostalgic, anecdote-laden discussion.
But the class of 2025 travel to Hull City on Saturday lunchtime for the first of eight massive second-tier games that will decide their fate. Asked about Town’s current predicament, Still addressed fans and said: “Now the club need you. Now they need their supporters to get behind them.
“[From] minute one to minute 95, 96, 97, support your team with everything you’ve got, even if they are shocking. So when they come off, they’re not aggrieved that their support hasn’t got behind them.
“And when they come back after the next game, give it again. Just give it everything you’ve got. And that will keep the players on a higher level, [with them] knowing that if I make a mistake, no one’s going to be shouting or telling me I’m useless and telling me I can’t do this and can’t do that.
“[It’s] not always easy to do because I’m also a supporter of a club. Two clubs. But what I’m saying is your support helped change our season when I was here. Pulling the supporter off [the terraces] and coming into our huddle to be part of the team. All little things. Sometimes people don’t know that they are so massive to players.”
Still added: “I just think that they’ve [players] given you so much. The club has given you so much, the players that have played for this club through the leagues, have given you so much. I don’t know if you’re going to stay up. I don’t. I can guess and I can hope and do all that.
“I do know that games are won and lost on inches. Seriously. Play a ball a second too quick and it’s gone past someone. A second too slow, it’s gone behind them. Cross the ball half a second too slow and the forward is going to run past the ball. It’s all about inches. Give the boys the inches.
“Give them everything you’ve got and just hope that it all falls into place. And you know what? I think he can. I’ll tell you why. Because the supporters in this club have done it before. You can do it again.”
Watch John Still’s speech below…
Be the first to comment