Danny Hylton says Championship survival was “on par” with Luton’s back-to-back promotion – but having fans to celebrate with would’ve made it more special.
The striker signed a new two-year deal last week to keep at a club he loves, having helped them rise from League Two to the second tier and then secure a final day Great Escape.
Due to Coronavirus, football was shutdown for three months and when it returned it did so in empty stadia for the final nine games of the campaign.
At that point, Town were effectively seven points adrift at the foot of the Championship table, but they secured their status in the division with a final day 3-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
Asked where that achievement ranks in his football career, Hylton said: “The promotions were unbelievable. They were amazing times, and staying up was probably as good as that, but because there were no fans, it you didn’t get that rush, or that high.
“But, if you look step back, and we’ve had a few weeks to think about it and reflect on it, staying in the Championship, when we were six points adrift was easily on par with the promotions, for sure, because it was a fantastic achievement.
“It would’ve been made a little bit more special if we’d have had 10,000 fans in there, but it was a fantastic achievement.”
Last term, Town secured the League One title on the final day of the season in front of a packed Kenilworth Road and the final whistle was greeted with thousands of supporters streaming onto the pitch to celebrate with their heroes.
Hylton said: “I’m not promoting this, by the way, but the whistle would go and you’d probably get a few hundred, or thousands of fans running on the pitch and swarming you.
“There was none of it and you wanted a big cheer, but it is what it is and that’s the type of environment we have at the minute, so the quicker we can fans back, the better.”
