Bloomfield will be careful with 'integral' Naismith as Luton begin three game week at Turf Moor

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield will take it careful with ‘integral’ defender Kal Naismith when the Hatters begin a massive three game week this afternoon.

The Hatters start what could be a decisive period in their battle against relegation by going to going to title-chasing Burnley today, before travelling to fellow relegation rivals Cardiff City on Tuesday night and then rounding off a busy seven days at home to play-off hopefuls Middlesbrough next weekend. The last time Town had a three game week, Naismith, who had struggled with injuries at his parent club Bristol City this term, started against both Sheffield United and Plymouth Argyle, but then had to miss the final contest against Watford due to a tight hamstring, Town falling to a limp 2-0 defeat in his absence.

He was able to return to the side that beat Portsmouth 1-0 on Saturday, showing his worth once more with a hugely influential display, and will be in the squad at Turf Moor along with centre half Mark McGuinness, who hobbled through the latter stages against Pompey. On whether Naismith could be rotated to make sure he can play as much as possible, Bloomfield said: “We’ve had to be careful with Kal. We’ve had to be careful with Mark too with the little knocks.

"Football isn’t it? Mark comes on (against Portsmouth) with a little knock and gets another one straight away, so we’ve had to be careful with him. We’ll try and make the right choices as I see fit. Kal is integral to us, he’s a huge player, a huge character, he’s been incredible since he’s come through the door. If he can play 90 minutes of all three then great and if he can’t then we’ll make the right decisions along the way.”

Although on paper Luton look to have a more realistic chance of getting their points in midweek when visiting a Bluebirds side who start the day just outside the relegation zone, asked if would be placing more significance on the outcome of Tuesday night instead of today’s contest with a Clarets outfit who appear locked in a three-way battle with Leeds United and Sheffield United for the two automatic promotion slots, Bloomfield continued: “I’m also a big believer that you have to play the game in front of you. We have to attack the game and believe that we can win it. We do. We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we’ll be attacking it and believing in what we’re trying to do.”

Bloomfield is also aware of the importance that Town’s full match-day squad will play, as he will once again look to use his substitutions to give the Hatters every chance of picking up a result in Lancashire, adding: “We’ve got to be mindful not to pre-empt too much, I think we let the evidence of the game play out as well. Everyone knows finishers in my mind do play a big part. Fresh energy and I think we used that well last week.

"When Milli (Alli) came on he was great, Zack (Nelson) came on and gave us some good fresh energy in the middle of the pitch. We’ve used our finishers so far and I’m sure we will again this week, not just because of the situation, but because of the intensity of the games these days. It warrants those changes, but without pre-empting anything, I’m sure we will use our finishers and we hope to use them well.”