Hayrettin felt Hatters were worthy winners over Gills

Goals from Jon Shaw with a superb volley, Kane Ferdinand plus Mark Cullen’s late strike saw Town triumph 3-2 at Creasey Park, home of Dunstable Town.

Hayrettin said: “It was very pleasing. There was a period in the game when for 15-20 minutes like the first team last night, we could see something that wasn’t right, but we rectified that and we deservedly won the game.

“We played a team from a higher league and I think that we were the better team over 90 minutes.

“I don’t think anyone let themselves down and it was a very strong Gillingham side, as they had seven or eight first team players.

“Their first team manager Peter Taylor paid it the respect it deserved by turning up.

“I can’t take anything away from the boys, they pushed the issue. It’s like being in the scrum, we kept pushing it back, pushing it back to get our rewards.”

With a settled Luton side flying high at the top of the Skrill Premier, Hayrettin conceded these games have extra significance with players looking to push their way into manager John Still’s thoughts.

He continued: “I’m a great believer in these games as these are how I got my breakthrough as a youngster.

“It should be the same for any person, either young or old, coming back from injury or pushing to get back into the team.

“When we’ve got likes of (Alex) Lawless, Cullen, Shaw and Charlo (Anthony Charles) really, really pushing themselves to play in these games to make sure that they’re ready and competitive, it’s all good habits.

“We want to win as many games of football and me, I want to win dominoes, five a side, anything I can play.

“That’s what these boys have got in abundance as it’s been installed all through the football club.

“They’ve been working hard for a long, long time. That’s something our manager has installed and we’ve got to keep that ethos going through.

“The position we find ourselves in at this football club now, we’ve got to keep everyone on their toes and mentally prepared.

“They’ve got to be ready so if they’re recalled or needed in the first team they’re ready.

“As our gaffer says, we’ve got a squad that’s capable of playing, every single one of them and you can see that from today’s performance, how strong the squad is.”

Former Aldershot and Shrewsbury defender Ben Herd completed 90 minutes at right back, as Hayrettin added: “Ben’s on trial, we’re just covering all the areas really and having a look. He did himself no harm at all.”

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