Hatters chief demands Luton 'come out fighting' against Wigan Athletic
Town determined to bounce back from Bradford City loss
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield has urged his players to ‘come out fighting’ when they entertain Wigan Athletic at Kenilworth Road in League One this evening.
The Hatters return to home soil for the first time since their opening night 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon well over a fortnight ago, as they have played three successive away games, beating Peterborough United 2-0, but losing to both Coventry City (1-0) in the Carabao Cup first round and then Bradford City 2-1 on Saturday.
The manner of the Hatters’ display at the University of Bradford Stadium gave Bloomfield clear cause for concern, as they lost a number of their individual battles during the contest against the Bantams, while also once more failing to look much of an attacking threat, creating precious few chances in the final third, managing just three shots in total throughout the 90 minutes.
With that in mind, then discussing tonight’s outing, Bloomfield said: “We need to bounce back, we need to show more fight. We need a reaction, we need to come out fighting. It’s been a lot of travel, so I’m really looking forward to being back at the Kenny. An evening game, they're always special under the lights, now it’s up to us to put on a performance.”
The Latics have started the season in decent form, as under manager Ryan Lowe, they have won three out of their four matches, both home games in the league against Northampton Town and Peterborough United, also defeating League Two Notts County in the Carabao Cup too. Wigan’s one defeat came in their only fixture away from the DW Stadium, defeated 2-0 at Leyton Orient, while two of their attacking summer signings, Paul Mullin and Christian Saydee, are already off the mark for their new clubs, as is midfielder Fraser Murray, who was snapped up from Kilmarnock.
It saw Bloomfield continue: “Lowey knows the level, he’s managed at the level and in the Championship, so we know we’re going to be in for a tough test Tuesday evening. We have to focus on ourselves, we have to be better and we have to bounce back. We have to put on a performance for them (Luton supporters) to get behind. We have to provide a performance that they can back and they can get involved with and that’s up to us to turn up on Tuesday and do that.”
Meanwhile, Town skipper Kal Naismith, who spent two and a half years with the Latics as a player between July 2018 and January 2021, featuring 84 times and scoring seven goals, discussed facing his old side, plus going into the home game on the back of a defeat, adding: “I’m excited to go back. I feel like we’ve been on the road a bit recently, three away games in a row.
"It will be good to get back and I sort of like coming off the back of a loss at times, it teaches you a bit about yourself, not to feel sorry for yourself, can you go and bounce back? I know the lads will be feeling sore, but we’ll go again in front of our fans and I’m sure we’ll be a lot better. It’s always a nice touch when you play against an old club too. I had three years there and I really enjoyed it, I’m sure I’ll see a few faces, but then it’s mostly just to go and try and get back on track, that’s what I’m excited for.