Luton have been drawn away to Premier League giants Chelsea in the fourth round of the FA Cup, hours after manager Nathan Jones said he had a good feeling about plumb tie.
This season, the fifth round ties were also drawn at the same time, so if Town can see off the five-time Premier League champions, they travel to either Barnsley or Norwich City.
The Hatters saw off Championship rivals Reading 1-0 on Saturday to progress in the world’s oldest competition and were tonight drawn against the .
Asked today about the cup draw, Luton boss Jones said: “We hope for a good draw. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to get a real good draw this time.
“I’ve been very pessimistic before and it’s come back to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, so I think we’re going to get a real good draw this time. “
So it proved as Town were handed a first cup tie against the west London giants since Luton lost to them in the semi-final in 1994. The 2021 rematch will take place over the weekend of January 23.
After the draw, Jones told the club’s website: “It’s a great draw against a wonderful Premier League side. We love testing ourselves and this will be a massive, massive test.
“We are delighted we avoided someone else from our league and it gives us something different to experience. To go to such a prestigious Premier League club will be a special occasion which we’ll be looking forward to.”
But just as when Town drew Manchester United in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season, no fans will be at the game due to coronavirus restrictions and Jones added: “The real, real shame of both this, and the Manchester United one in the Carabao Cup, is that the fans can’t be there again. In the one year we get unbelievable draws in the cup competitions, there can’t be any supporters at either and that’s the thing I’m gutted about.
“We’d have taken seven, eight, nine, 10,000 fans – whatever allocation they’d have given us, our fans would have snapped them up in minutes, like when we went to Newcastle three years ago.
“The club would have earned a fortune from these two cup games this season, and if ever there was a season that clubs needed the extra revenue from cup runs, it’s this one.
“Our supporters have been unbelievable and buying season tickets to keep this club going, and we will go there and make sure we do them proud.”
Asked if he thought Town could sustain a cup run, Jones said: “Yeah, I do. We made ten changes (against Reading), near enough, and I thought we were excellent in the first half, really good, in a system that we haven’t played for a while.
“We came off it a little bit in the second half and didn’t start well, but that’s the learning curve and people like Tunni (Ryan Tunnicliffe), Joe Morrell, Elliot Lee, (Sam) Nombe, (Danny) Hylton, James Bree, Brendan (Galloway), pretty much everyone of the players had not had a lot of game time.
“So, they were not as sharp but that’s why we take the cup seriously. It’s the first time in a while that Luton’s got to the fourth round. When I was here (before) we got to the third round at Newcastle, but of course we can (go on a good run).”
