Green determined to prove his worth at Luton

Winger Danny Green has reiterated his desire to make a success of his Hatters career under boss Nathan Jones.
Winger Danny Green in action against CarlisleWinger Danny Green in action against Carlisle
Winger Danny Green in action against Carlisle

The summer signing from MK Dons has endured a mixed season at Kenilworth Road, restricted to just 17 league starts thus far.

However, he was recalled against Dagenham & Redbridge recently and started both away games at Oxford and Carlisle, with Jones admitting to the press last week that Green had made a big commitment to himself and the club.

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Although neither have specified what the gesture actually is, when asked about it, Green said: “It’s a tricky subject, it’s something that was there anyway, but I’ve said to the gaffer that I want to play for him, I want to play for Luton and I want to give it my all because I think he’s a really good, up-and-coming manager.

“I’ve worked with him before so I know what he’s like and I like his philosophy.

“You can see that he’s got a lot of desire. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he said to me that if I give him everything he’ll do his best for me and help me progress with Luton.

“That’s what I want to do, I want to play for him, give him my all and give my all for the fans as well.

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“I’ve had a difficult time coming off the bench sometimes and there are different reasons why I wasn’t starting, but you can’t do anything about that, that’s just football and you’ve got to live with that.

“I haven’t got other interests, I just want to play football and do well for Luton and hopefully the fans will see that I try to give my all.“

Jones spoke of his players needing more athleticism after the 2-1 win at Carlisle, as the hosts goal came from Green giving away possession on the right flank, before Jack Stacey fired past Elliot Justham.

He said: “Danny Green was a little bit sloppy, in terms of his play, he was getting tired.

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“We want Greeny, now, to get better. We know he’s got wonderful quality and now he has to be athletic.

“If you’re going to play in our team from now on you have to be really athletic, because we want to press, we want to work hard, when we come away, we soak up, we counter attack, have different game plans, different ways of playing.

“But the comomon theme is you have to be athletic and that’s what we ask of Greeny and he’s putting in real shifts for us.”

The winger admitted he is taking the instructions on board too, as he said: “Since he’s (Jones) come in I’ve changed my diet a little bit, trying to start eating a bit better.

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“Hopefully I can get fitter and stronger as I don’t think I’ve played consecutively all season.

“I’ve been in and out of the team and there were things where people were saying that I wasn’t working hard enough, but I’m working as hard as I can now.

“I’ve played the last three games and we’ve won, before I came out of the team we played against York and Hartlepool at home and we won both of those games as well.

“So hopefully I can keep playing in the team and the team keeps winning.”

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When back in the team against Dagenham, Green recevied some stick from the home fans, along with striker Joe Pigott, but he is confident he has the ability to win those supporters over.

The winger added: “I was getting a hard time at home but you’ve just got to get on with it and try to turn those fans around.

“You get a bit of abuse and little bit of abuse on Twitter and stuff like that but it’s one of those, they’re passionate fans.

“The fans get frustrated because they expected so much this season. It has been an up and down season, the manager has changed and it is hard for everyone at the club.

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“We’re finally getting into a bit of a rhythm now and hopefully we can show the fans on a regular basis at home that we want to play well for them, that we want to play good football and we want to score goals.

“It’s a big club, Luton, it’s not a small club. I didn’t want to go to a small club, I wanted to go to a big club.

“To play for Luton is a privilege really and hopefully the fans will see that we all want to play for Luton and we all want to do the best for them.

“I’m one of these players that need five or six games to really get going and get my energy levels up. Hopefully I can do that and repay the faith the gaffer has shown in me.

“I don’t think I’ve started more than three games in a row this season, so I’ve started the last three games now and it will be nice to start the next game and build up my fitness and strength. “