Clark knows Luton's miserable away form means Town need to beat Derby County
Hatters have lost their last seven games on the road
Midfielder Jordan Clark knows that Town’s woeful away record means the pressure is well and truly on his side to pick up a victory at Kenilworth Road when Derby County are the visitors tomorrow night.
Luton’s home form of late has been good on paper, with only one defeat in their last nine matches, winning five and drawing three. Outside of Bedfordshire it’s a completely different matter though, the Hatters’ 2-0 reverse at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday making it seven straight losses, Town taking just four points from a possible 30 on their travels this term.
When you look at the calendar year of 2024, it doesn’t make for much better reading either, as from 20 fixtures, admittedly 10 of them in the Premier League, the Hatters have won just once, drawn four and lost 15, scoring 21 goals and conceding a hefty 49. After facing the Rams live on Sky Sports, Clark and his team-mates have three of their next four matches away from home, as they go to Bristol City on Boxing Day and Swansea City a few days later.
Luton do then entertain Norwich City on New Year’s Day, but are back on the bus on Monday, January 6 when they travel to QPR, a side who are starting to pick up results now. With that in mind, and Town just five points above the relegation zone now having played more games than all four of the teams directly underneath them, Clark said of Friday’s match: “It's massive. The worrying thing is we know what we’re going to get at home.
"We know the lads are going to be at it and it’s just a blueprint, everyone’s ready, we know our roles. Away from home it's trying to find that form as we’ve been really poor away from home. It’s a massive game and we need to pick up as many points as we can now, as the Christmas period into January is always tough. There’s a lot of games coming thick and fast, the two away games after that, so it’s important, we need to win that game.”
Clark could be coming up against two of his former Luton team-mates when Derby are in town, as striker James Collins and defender Sonny Bradley are both now at Pride Park. although neither are regulars in the first team. The latter was club captain when Town won promotion to the Premier League back in 2022, while Collins scored an impressive 72 goals in 183 appearances for the Hatters.
On facing the duo, the midfielder added: “I know quite a few of the lads at Derby so it will be good to see them, but hopefully we can be smiling after the game with three points and we can shake hands and ‘say all the best.’ It’s full focus on trying to win the game and doing everything we can to win.”