Mark McGuinness believes that a newfound “stability” is the key to Luton’s defence which has now seen Town keep three clean sheets in five, while picking up 10 vital Championship survival points.
Saturday’s 1-0 triumph at fellow strugglers Hull City was the first time in just over two years that the Hatters have secured back-to-back shutouts in the league.
It reeled the Tigers back to the relegation picture with Town now three points from safety, but as the form team in the bottom half of the table with seven games to go.
“I think it’s important that we’ve got a little bit of stability there and we’ve got people who can come in and add to the group,” McGuinness said of Town’s defence after restricting Middlesbrough to zero shots on target two weeks ago and then just three for Hull at the weekend.
With Reece Burke handed his first start in four months and the experienced Kal Naismith afforded just a five-minute cameo, the Hatters suddenly have almost a full complement of defenders, after a year of injury problems.
“It’s important that everyone coming in knows the roles, and I think everyone does which is great, so it allows us to chop and change, people coming in and out, which is going to happen now,” McGuinness said.
“It starts in training and we’ve been working hard, we’ve been consistent and everyone’s been at it. I think that has something to show for.”
Hull still had 65 per cent of the ball, so it required a disciplined display and when chances did present themselves to the Tigers McGuinness and Thomas Kaminski were in the way to deny them.
“I think we picked up where we left off just before the international break, so we felt solid, we felt good. Not just me and the defensive unit, it was everyone across the pitch. So it was really good,” McGuinness told the BBC.
And at the other end, Luton got a huge slice of match-winning fortune 11 seconds into the second half when Hull skipper Lewie Coyle cleared a ball into Alfie Jones’ face for a comical own goal.
McGuinness said: “We needed to have a bit of luck at the start of the half. I think we needed that and we’ve probably been lacking that over the course of the season, so I think we deserved that.
“Sometimes it does take a little bit of luck and you create your own luck and I think we deserved that, definitely.”
Town’s next test is arguably one of the toughest in the Championship with the visit of Leeds to Kenilworth Road, though the previously imperious Yorkshire side are currently experiencing a wobble in their bid for automatic promotion, with just one win in their last five.
“Every game is winnable and we’re going into any game thinking that we’re going to win the game. And we need to win. There’s no two ways about it,” said McGuinness.
“But it’s that confidence, it’s that momentum that we’re building, so it’s going to make it a lot easier for us.”
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