The absence of a hostile Kenilworth Road atmosphere for tonight’s final game Championship survival decider will be a “big miss” but boss Nathan Jones says his players can handle the high stakes.
A victory against Blackburn Rovers will ensure safety and though Town have clawed back an effective seven-point deficit in their eight games since the restart, they’ve yet to win at home.
Three 1-1 draws against Preston, Barnsley and QPR, plus a 5-0 defeat to Reading have brought few home comforts, as games have had to be played behind closed doors, due to Coronavirus social distancing measures.
In normal circumstances tonight, the Hatters would be spurred on by a sell-out crowd, but that won’t be the case tonight.
“If we had fans here, it would be a wonderful atmosphere,” said Jones, adding: A Wednesday night, with the importance of the game, a full house at Kenilworth Road, it probably rivals Elland Road. Not for sheer numbers but for the vociferousness and the hostility and the driving force that the crowd here give us.
“That’s a big, big miss for us because our fans are magnificent, especially on a night game. Night games at the Kenny are pretty special and that’s what we’re going to miss.
“We have to motivate ourselves because, regardless of fans, the result and the meaning of the result is the same whether there’s fans here or not, but we will miss that atmosphere.”
Town beat Blackburn 2-1 at Ewood Park in September and while Jones is wary of a nerve-free Rovers, who have nothing to play for, he is certain that his players – the majority of whom achieved back-to-back promotions to reach the Championship – are used to the pressure.
He said: “It’s a big game, a big occasion, the stakes are high. They’re used to playing in big games and they’re used to having to win.
“When you’re at the right end of the table, having to win is just as important as where we are now.
“We can’t hype it up for them to be fearful. We can’t be fearful tomorrow. We’ve got to embrace the challenge.
“When we came in, in May, if you’d have given us this scenario now, we’d have taken it.”
