Ruthless Cornick has a new belief he will score for Luton

Hatters striker Harry Cornick has credited manager Graeme Jones and his coaching staff for giving him the extra belief in front of goal this season.
Harry Cornick wheels away after scoring at Birmingham on SaturdayHarry Cornick wheels away after scoring at Birmingham on Saturday
Harry Cornick wheels away after scoring at Birmingham on Saturday

The 24-year-old was on target during Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City, scoring for the fifth time this season, a number he took until December 2 to reach last term.

Like his goal against Bristol City the previous weekend, Cornick was sprung by Izzy Brown’s pass, bearing down on the opposition goal.

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In recent times, the former Bournemouth winger has been guilty of missing those kinds of chances, but as he did in the 3-0 win over the Robins, buried his opportunity when it came along, fairly smashing his shot past Lee Camp.

On the clear improvement in his finishing under Jones, Cornick said: “He’s spoken to me, he’s helped me a lot mentally when I go for a goal, believing I’m going to score, not hoping I’m going to score.

“Making sure every shot I take, I’m thinking, ‘this is going into the back of the net.’

“It’s something I’m working on and that can only improve if I keep working with the coaches and help my finishing.

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“I’ve been doing a lot of work with Ini (Inigo Idiakez, first team coach) too on my finishing and that’s pretty much the finish we do every week now, every day.

“I should have scored against Fulham, I had a good chance then, so I need to keep working at it, keep improving, because in these sorts of games you’re not going to get loads of chances.

“Today I got one chance and you’ve got to take that chance when you get it as some games you might get no chances, so you’ve just got to be ruthless.

“The gaffer spoke to me about believing I can score and believing in what I can do and I think I’m trying to put that into place.

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“It’s good for me to get another goal, but it’s more dropped points and another game where we should have probably got something out of it and we walk away empty-handed.”

Jones, who was a striker in his playing days, admitted recently he had told his forward that it can be as ‘simple as picking a corner and hitting it as hard as you can.’

Cornick, who had only been on the pitch a matter of seconds, certainly followed that advice to a tee at St Andrews as the Town chief said of his impact: “I think Harry’s getting that belief now.

“I’ve said for a long time now he’s not a substitute.

"I know he was today because of the physical demands of Wednesday night’s game for them, but Harry knows he can score goals at this level now.”

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Prior to Town’s trip to Birmingham, Cornick had started the club’s previous 10 league games, which was easily his best run in the side since arriving from the Cherries back in August 2017.

Although disappointed to miss out on an 11th straight match, Cornick, who had featured on Wednesday night in the 3-2 defeat at Fulham, understood the decision.

He said: “He (Jones) spoke to me before the game and told me the reasons why and it’s completely understandable why I didn’t start.

“I’ve got to know my role in the team, last year I was mainly on the bench and I’m used to that role, I know what I can do when I come off the bench.

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“I think I’m an impact when I come on and I showed I can do that, but if the manager thinks I can do it then I’ve just got to trust what he says and go with what he thinks.

“Personally, it’s my best run in the team since I signed here, to get 10 starts in a row has been good for me to build my confidence.

“I think I’m getting towards where I think I can be and playing my best football and today was just a little rest, came on and made an impact.

“You’ve got to do what the manager wants you to do and today he thought I could make an impact off the bench and I have done.”