Hatters forward Jerome insists Luton players will 'cherish' the chance to take on eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea on home soil

Town attacker confident Kenilworth Road crowd will boost the hosts
Luton striker Cameron JeromeLuton striker Cameron Jerome
Luton striker Cameron Jerome

Luton striker Cameron Jerome insists the Hatters players will cherish the opportunity to go up against Premier League giants Chelsea at Kenilworth Road in the FA Cup tonight.

The Blues bring their Champions League and World Club Cup winning team to Bedfordshire for the fifth round tie, which is set to be played in front of a full house, televised live on BBC One too.

Jerome, who has been a top flight player during his career and also reached the last 16 of the competition three times before, twice with Birmingham City and once with Stoke, is confident that with no pressure on his side, they can go out and take the game to their opponents, especially with home advantage behind them.

He said: “It is a magnificent occasion for this football club to have Chelsea coming to Kenilworth Road.

“It won’t be easy for them, they’ve had a cup final on the Sunday against Liverpool and it’s a real difficult place to come here.

“The pitch is quite close to the stands, it’s such an old, historic football ground, and it plays into our favour.

“So it’s one that we can enjoy as the pressure’s off a little bit in terms of us not expecting to win the game, but the boys will cherish the chance to go up against some of the best players in the world.

“We’ve got nothing to lose, also we can just got for it and if we get a result, we get a result.

“If we don’t then we’re not expected to get a result, we’ll go back to the bread and butter which is the league.”

Defender James Bree said of the tie: “It’s really good, we were all sat in the Brache watching the draw, so when it was Chelsea, everyone was buzzing and had a little bit of a laugh in there.

"Obviously they’re a really good team, but it’s going to be a really good day for the fans, so we’ll see what we can do.”