Hatters defender urges Luton fans not to 'go to war with each other'
Town supporters seen fighting after Reading defeat
Luton defender Cohen Bramall has urged Town supporters not to ‘go to war with each other’ after some ugly scenes in the away end following the Hatters’ 3-2 defeat at Reading on Thursday night.
After the visitors trailed 2-0 with an hour gone, they gave themselves every chance of returning to Bedfordshire with at least a point, Jordan Clark and Nigel Lonwijk both on target, before the Royals then scored again immediately afterwards to ensure the three points remained in Berkshire. When Town’s players went over to applaud the more than 1,000 travelling fans following the final whistle, Bramall and team-mate Teden Mengi were seen in deep discussions with an irate supporters before another member of the away end was caught on camera throwing a punch in his direction.
Having witnessed it first hand, Bramall, who has been easily one of the best players during the Hatters’ start to the campaign, said: “I get why the fans are upset after the loss. To be fair I thought the fans after the game were really appreciative and it was just one of those things where a fan’s got really upset and angry and it's just turned into a bust-up. That's the last thing that we need, is going to war with each other, we don't really want to implode, we need everyone together.
"Recently we've been unlucky with a few of the results. We know we can give a lot more and just right now, especially in this Christmas period where there's a lot of games coming up, we need everyone up on their feet and backing us really, especially at the Kenny. It's one of those things, we don't want to see that, fans getting aggressive and fighting each other after the game, that's the last thing that we want.
"The lads really appreciated how on a Thursday night they came up to Reading with us and they battled with us the whole way. They've shown their appreciation, it was a massive clap for us and that goes a long way with us. I just don't want people fighting, it's not nice to see, there’s young lads there and it’s not good.”
One thing that has been levelled against some of Town’s players is their lack of desire during games this season, the Hatters having already lost eight times, including five away from Kenilworth Road. That couldn’t be further from the truth for Bramall though, who was quick to hold his hands up for the error he made in the build-up to the Royals third goal, continuing: “Sometimes the fans might say that we don’t care, but trust me now, we really do.
"Against Reading, I think that's the best football we've played all season. I know we didn't get the win and we’ve made individual mistakes, I’ve made a mistake, I’ve got to win the header, but this comes from everyone at the club, especially from the lads as well, everyone who’s involved in the squad, we need all the fans. It's massive for us, that's the most important thing right now.”
Boss Jack Wilshere also echoed the thoughts of his defender too, as he called for unity if the Hatters are to stand a chance of reaching their goal this season, which is promotion back to the Championship. He added: “First of all thanks to all the fans that came and supported us because I felt that in the end. You always have that feeling after a game when you've lost and I’ve been there as a player and you always get that we want to thank them for their support, but we also understand they want to win games as much as we do.
"There’s always that feeling when you walk over there and I was really thankful to a lot of the fans for applauding and seeing the positives, which is not always easy straight away. You saw the players going over to the fans to speak to them, of course you don't want to see that (fighting) and we need everyone. I keep saying it, I’m convinced of it. A big thing when I came into the training ground here was getting everyone together, staff players, chefs, kit men, cleaners, everyone being part of it as everyone plays a role.
"The hardest part now is to convince every single fan, you probably won’t be able to do that anyway, and we understand that winning games is the most important thing. We are trying our hardest, the first thing on my mind and everyone’s mind is how we win and the first thing the players will see in our analysis session is how we win the game. We believe this is the best way to go about it and we’ll keep trying.”