Cornick warns team-mates to get ready for an 'intense' experience under Hatters boss Jones

Luton attacker feels he has had his best season in Town shirt so far
Town attacker Harry Cornick goes on the run against West Bromwich Albion earlier in the seasonTown attacker Harry Cornick goes on the run against West Bromwich Albion earlier in the season
Town attacker Harry Cornick goes on the run against West Bromwich Albion earlier in the season

Town attacker Harry Cornick has told his team-mates to expect some ‘intense’ training sessions now that manager Nathan Jones is back at the helm.

The former Town boss returned to take the hot-seat once more last month, replacing Graeme Jones, who left the club back in April.

Cornick, 25, was signed by Jones from Bournemouth back in August 2017, arriving as a right winger, before Jones changed all that, giving him a far more central role.

He has since gone on to score 21 goals in 117 games for the Hatters since and on the manager’s training methods, speaking to Sky Sports News, he said: “He's expecting a lot.

“Some of the lads who have been there for two or three years with him know what he's about, but then we gave the others an insight to say ‘lads, this is going to be an intense few days, you need to get on it.’

“He's implemented his philosophy back in and we’re playing his way again, which is nice for some of the boys.

“He's an intense man, you've got to be on it every day in training as if you're not, he will let you know.”

Under previous boss Graeme Jones, Cornick had his most impressive campaign so far in a Town shirt, scoring eight goals in the Championship and looking like he had really adapted to the step up in standard.

He admitted it was tough to see the former Swansea and Belgium assistant leave at the start of the lockdown measures, continuing: “For me personally, they've both been great for me.

“I've probably had my best season yet under Graeme Jones and I was sad to see him go, as I worked quite well with him and I feel like he's improved me a lot as a player,

“They're quite similar in styles of play, how they want to play, they're very detailed in what they want to see and what they want.

"If you don't do it that way, they will let you know about it.

“Nathan Jones is probably a bit more intense, hands on, he'll let you know and shout, but they're similar coaches in a way.

“They're very hands on in how they want you to play, they get stuck in during training sessions, they've both been good for me personally.

“Hopefully Nathan coming back in is going to be good for the squad, good for the team and we can hit the ground running.”

Although Cornick has only netted twice since the turn of the year, he has still one of Town’s stand-out performers this term, and now hopes to add to his tally in the club’s remaining nine games, which start at home to Preston tomorrow.

He said: “I think I’ve done okay, the main thing I had to add to my games was goals and I've scored a few this year.

“I think I've been playing quite well, so that thing (coronavirus) didn't come at a great time for me as I thought I was having my best season yet.

“But the safety of people come first and it was the right thing to do, so I've just got to hit the ground running and look at it like a nine game mini season.

“That's the best way we can look at it as a club as well, we've got nine games to try and get as many points as we can to stay in the league.”

Town have now been back in training for just over three weeks and after initially being excited about returning, Cornick soon realised what was in store for the squad.

He said: "Everyone was so excited when they said your first day back was this Friday and everyone thought, 'yes, back to training.'

"Then we got there and we thought, ‘hold on a second, it’s pre-season testing, we're going to be running.’

"We’re doing tests, we’re doing runs, it was horrible, it was just nice to get back there and see the lads, but the sessions have been tough, doing a bit of running.

"(Our first touches were) A little bit rusty, I think the first day we went back it was non-contact, so we did a few passing drills, and no-one really got close to each other.

"Then when that first keep ball came in, it was tough for some people!"

However, just knowing that his side will get to finish the season on the pitch is a source of encouragement for Cornick though after 10 weeks of lockdown.

Ahead of the season restarting against Preston, he added: "No-one knew what we were going to be doing for a few weeks, we didn't know if the season was going to be finished, we didn’t know if we'd be playing another game until the 2020-21 season, so to know that I've got a game this weekend coming up is exciting, it's good.

"My football fix has been a bit cured with watching a bit of Bundesliga and watching what you can.

"I've watched the Premier League years about 12 times, I think I've watched the 04-05 season about 10 times on Sky Sports, so I've been doing what I can.

"But to be actually to be able to play a game is going to be fun."