Paul Hart insists Luton must get their feet back on the ground to face a relegation threatened Reading side on a dismal run of form.
Town beat Championship leaders Bournemouth 3-2 with a Kal Naismith 97th last kick of the game on Saturday, sparking extraordinary scenes inside Kenilworth Road.
The Royals, on the other hand suffered a 95th minute sucker punch as they lost at Middlesbrough, extending their winless run to six games. That was preceded by a 7-0 drubbing on their own patch by Fulham and a humiliating FA Cup exit at non-league Kidderminster.
Town are on a four-game unbeaten streak, but Luton first-team coach Hart said: “We don’t think it’s going to be a walk in the park by any means. It’s going to be a tough game and, coming off the back of a win against the top team, we can’t be dreaming about what we did on Saturday. We’ve got to be at it.”
Town were 2-0 up at half time against the Cherries but were pegged back in the second period before their grandstand finish, so Hart knows there’s still plenty to work on, despite the positive emotions that have engulfed Luton since Saturday.
He said: “We’ve got to balance all the positives that were there, and the elation, with letting in two goals, for instance. So, it can’t be perfect.
“It balances it. It’s not all a pat on the back. It’s (questioning) ‘do we think we’d be able to do this better?’
“We can’t live in dreamland. We’ve got to be realistic and approach every game with a ‘well done’, but there’s certain things we can do better.”
Reading sit just one place and three points above the Championship drop zone and ten points behind Luton, who have two games in hand against the majority of teams in the division, with this fixture a rearranged clash after the Royals were struck with Covid before Christmas.
Hart said: “You have to be careful of those teams looking upset and all that and then they stuff you. We have to be on our toes no matter what.
“Reading are a great football club and over the past couple of years, have produced some great football. This is not an easy game by any means.
“It’s a tough game and we’re doing well but we have to string those games together and make sure it is about us. That’s not being selfish, it’s about how we approach the game and what we do with it.”
The clash will be the Royals’ first return to their home turf since the seven-goal drubbing at the hands of Fulham, but Town have a miserable record in Reading, with their last victory coming nine visits ago in 1999.
Hart said of the Berkshire side’s last home match: “It’s painful when you go through something like that. How the environment is I don’t know, but I know what it’s like here if we lose 1-0. I can’t imagine it being very nice!”
Town are monitoring centre back Reece Burke and midfielder Allan Campbell, both of whom limped out of Saturday’s rollercoaster ride, but forward Harry Cornick is still unavailable.
Hart said: “He’s doing very well. Still a little bit away because of the nature of his (calf) injury but I can report there is good progress being made. We’ve got to be careful but he’s doing well.”
