Cohen Bramall has warned League One defences that Shayden Morris is going to cause havoc in a Luton shirt after hailing the winger as “frightening”.
The full back has already been impressed by what he’s seen in training and in the 4-1 Vertu Trophy win over Barnet, when the transfer deadline day recruit came on for a devastating 30-minute cameo, winning and converting a spot-kick to bag a debut goal.
Morris’ pace was the major factor which impressed the Kenilworth Road crowd, as well as his new team-mates, as he was only unveiled as a Hatter the day before.
“I’ve played against Shay before, I think, when he was at Fleetwood, and he’s always been sharp. He’s electric, mate. I think you’ll see a lot more of Shay,” Bramall said, adding: “I think we’ll just give him the ball and let him run with it. He is frightening. I haven’t seen someone that sharp in a long time. And he’s got legs, he can gallop. So I’m excited to see him.”
Morris, signed from Aberdeen after interest all summer from Luton, and made a convincing case to be part of the starting line-up when Luton resume League One action against Plymouth on Saturday, though he’ll have strong competition as Gideon Kodua was also outstanding in the same position for the first hour.
On whether Morris will be best as a starter or as an impact player from the substitutes’ bench, manager Matt Bloomfield said: “Both, I hope. I think he has got a real good experience and a real good history of impacting games as a finisher. I think that’s been proven up the road in Scotland. But also don’t want to just have him down as a substitute, as a finisher. So we want him to be ready to start games and impact games from the bench as again we see fit.”
And with Milli Alli on the left side, plus the likes of Izzy Jones still to return from injury, Bloomfield has assembled a quick attack. The challenge now is to make sure that pace translates into points to cement Town’s promotion ambitions.
“Every game’s going to give us different challenges. Against Burton, we were heading the game, so it was about just continuing what we were doing.
“There’s going to be other games where we might not be ahead, where we’re going to need players from the bench to come and turn it in our favour, especially those wing-back positions that are real high distance, high-speed sprint distances.
“You need two players for each position who can carry the threat for you. So, it’s really important that we have the competition in wide areas, but also the camaraderie and team ethos that if one’s tired, the other one comes on and carries a threat so and carries the fight.”
And the manager is pleased that, after such a busy transfer window with a 14-man turnaround, his new recruits are already recognising the talents of their new team-mates.
“It’s really important and it’s good for Cohen to note that,” Bloomfield said on hearing Bramall’s assessment of Morris’ “frightening” debut. “I’m really pleased that he’s noted that and he feels welcome and part of the group already.
“It’s not easy to change football clubs and feel settled and at home straight away, so it’s great for him and good for the group that they feel that way.
“I hope that more good performances and more points can keep building that feel good factor and we can build something special, that’s absolutely my desire.”
