Kal Naismith is eager to hear and feel the Kenilworth Road atmosphere again but has identified what it will take for beleaguered fans to get behind the Hatters against Sheffield United today.
The defender returned to Luton in the January transfer window on loan from Bristol who he left Town for in 2022.
Naismith’s last game at the Hatters’ home was the Championship play-off semi-final first leg against Huddersfield, but he’s returned to a side facing very different challenges this term.
Town take on high-flying Sheffield United this afternoon, having slipped to the bottom of the second tier after a midweek 2-0 defeat at fellow promotion-chasers Sunderland.
Sheffield and Luton were peers last season in the Premier League, having both got promoted then struggling and eventually both getting relegated.
United, who finished rock bottom of the top flight, have maintained a promotion push, but the drop-off for the Hatters has been alarming.
Nevertheless, Naismith is eager to play in front of the home fans once again and believes they can help lift the team.
“Everything happens for a reason. And look, I left this club and I love being here and I’m back and I’ve never been so happy. Honestly, to be back here, it just sort of feels right,” he told the BBC.
“And I just can’t wait to go and play Kenny again and be in front of the fans and try and really get them behind us.
“I feel as a player you can look at it and say, ‘oh, we’re in a scrap and it’s not a good time but, for me, I look at these moments and this is the moment you want to be in when everyone’s doubting you and you’re down there and say, ‘let’s go and show people, show everyone’.
“We’ll be standing side-by-side as his players and we’ll be right behind each other. I know the fans will get behind us in the tough moments. I know they’ll be there. So I’m looking forward to the game on Saturday. Let’s get the fans behind us, give them something to shout about and let’s go, let’s do it.”
Luton are winless in nine league games and Kenilworth Road hasn’t quite had the same ferocity in this season where the home side have hugely underperformed.
But the 32-year-old said: “[I’m] really really excited to get back there and just hear it again and feel it. But we need to start fast. We need to be aggressive. We need to give them something to get behind us for.
“And I know they’ll be right there because in the tough times, they will. They’ve had incredible times, the past journey, the club’s been incredible and it’s a tough moment now, but that’s when you see what people are really there and I know the fans will be behind us.”
One of the key concerns for Luton this season has been their soft defensive record, with costly errors repeatedly being their undoing and that was the case against Sunderland for both goals.
Though the first two appearances in his second spell as a Hatter have come from the bench, as an experienced player, Naismith hopes to provide leadership and organisation to Luton’s struggling backline.
He said: “You need to be confident out there and you need to have a voice. The lads have been great, honestly. In training, the boys have been top, big boys, we’re demanding from each other and pushing each other. I’ll come in and just be myself. I think everybody knows I’m sort of vocal. I’m constantly trying to help people around me. I’m an unselfish player, and that’s what I’ve been brought in to do.”
When he signed for Luton the second time Naismith told the club’s website: “Part of the reason why it was so special, this club, when I was here is because the fans are so passionate. They care so much. They cared so much when I was here. And then look at the journey they’ve just went on with the club. They’ve had some of the greatest times ever. But when you really find out about people, especially players, fans as well, it’s the tough times and I know the Luton fans are incredible in the tough times and they’ll get right behind the lads and we’re going to need them.
“We’re going to need every single person in this building, and we’re going to need every fan to get right behind us, because it’s going to be a fight for now at the end of the season, but it’s one out and positive that will sort of go our way and and we’ll come up good.”
Naismith has had an injury-hit spell with Bristol which has restricted him to just nine appearances this season.
“I’m feeling a lot better. The manager’s been brilliant. He’s been chatting to me the full time, so I just want to be in the best position possible [so that] when I’m needed for the club, I can help,” the Scot said.
“I’m feeling I’m really getting there now. I’m feeling myself. I just had a great block, ten days training with the boys, getting to know them, working hard in training and then I’ve had really valuable minutes that I think will stand me in good stead. So whenever my team mates need me, the manager needs me. I’m sort of there firing, ready to go.”
So far Naismith has been used sparingly, and boss Matt Bloomfield said: “I think we’ve got to be careful with Kal because he’s obviously not played loads and loads of football, but it was important that we got him on the pitch on Wednesday evening.
“It’s important we try to start building him up because he’s been brought in for a reason. He’s got good quality, his left foot, fantastic leadership skills and someone who’s played a big part in this club’s past. We hope that he can contribute in a big way between now and the end of the season.
“I like it when people have got points to prove. [It] brings an extra edge and brings an extra intensity and extra energy. And Kal’s got that personality about him.
“Even if he didn’t have a point to prove, I think he’d still carry himself the same way. But there’s nothing wrong with having a point to prove. I think it’s good for us all to have that point to prove to the world.”
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