Graeme Jones admits that the international break has come at a ‘bad time’ with Luton on a three-game winning run in all competitions.
Beating Huddersfield 2-1 on Saturday confirmed back-to-back victories in the Championship, sandwiched between a Carabao Cup triumph at Cardiff, but they will have to wait until September 14 for their next game.
It’s been 12 years since the Hatters were party to an international break, but with Championship football comes the occasional fortnight without competitive club action as national duty takes precedent for many.
Town have goalkeeper Simon Sluga (Croatia), striker James Collins (Republic of Ireland) and Luke Bolton (England Under-21s) all joining up with the countries this week and next for Euro 2020 qualifiers and friendlies.
Jones has experienced both sides of the international break, both with the Championship and Premier League clubs he’s been at and his spell with the Belgium national side, but asked about what the international break meant for him now, Jones said: “I want to keep playing. We’re winning games. It’s come at a bad time really.
“We’ve got impetus, we’ve got momentum and I’d like to be playing in three days’ time, but I don’t plan the fixtures, other people do and we’ll have to get on with it.”
It has been a hectic schedule of seven games in one month, with plenty of travelling involved.
Shinnie, whose only senior cap for Scotland came in 2012, said: “You want to keep playing when you’re winning, but it’ll be good to get a little rest. We worked really hard in pre-season and there’s been a lot of games.
“We’ll work hard, building up to QPR and we’ll go into that full of confidence. So, it’s 50/50. You do want to play again but it’ll be good to get refreshed in the legs.”
