Hylton ready for ‘weird’ experience of matches without fans

Luton striker Danny Hylton is readying himself for a ‘weird’ experience when the Championship season gets underway again after a 104-day hiatus behind closed doors at the weekend.

The social distancing rules enforced due to the coronavirus pandemic means that for the time being, supporters won’t be allowed into grounds.

Hylton is a player who has thrived on big crowds all throughout his career, regularly cast in the role as pantomime villain, particularly when Town are on the road.

That won’t be the case now though, as he said: “I’ve got no-one to wind up now, have I?

"I don’t know what I’m going to do.

“We had a game at Kenilworth Road recently and we actually lined up, 11 v 11, and said, ‘this is what the game’s going to be like.’

“It was strange and weird. Of course, the fans help you, but it will just have to be tunnel vision.

“Everyone’s in the same boat, it’s not just us, it’s everyone and we just have to make sure we prepare right, we hit the ground running.

“There’ll be no fans, so we’ll have to create our own atmosphere, tempo and we’re not going to have that luxury of fans driving you on in a game, but it’s the same for everyone.

"We’ll get these nine games out of the way and hopefully the fans will be back in the stadium in time for next season.”

With Town having to head to Swansea City, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Hull City, stadiums that all can house over 20,000 supporters, Hylton did concede it could possibly work in Luton’s favour on the road.

He continued: “We love the fans, I’ve played at Luton when the fans are against you and it’s a horrible place.

“No doubt that’s a massive advantage for us when we’ve got that behind us, but we’re not going to have that, so we’re going to have to create our own atmosphere.

“On the flip side, if you go to Elland Road or other away games that we have and they’re not going to have their crowd.

"It can be intimidating going to Leeds in front of 30,000, but if they’ve got no fans, it doesn’t give them that edge over you.

“So it will definitely play into our hands, but we’d definitely like to play in front of our own fans.”

After Saturday’s home match with Preston, Luton have a week off before finishing their campaign with a hectic run of eight games in just 26 days.

Hylton is quite happy with the gruelling schedule in place though, as he said: “If you ask the majority of footballers, that’s what they’d prefer.

“Especially if you’re playing well and winning games and picking up results, you want the games to come thick and fast.

“So hopefully we go and play our first game, get the win and the games keep coming, we keep picking up points, picking up results and that would be the best thing for it.

“It’s the same for everyone though. We came back to training as early as we were allowed, so I don’t think anyone will be ahead of us, everyone’s going to be in the same boat.

“It’s a nine game season, it’s who can hit the ground running, who can start the fastest and who can get momentum and carry that on.

“We’re just going to have to forget everything, forget form, forget what’s happened previously, get out there and try to get our own momentum and keep that for nine games and I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

The fixture list has been kind to Luton too, with just one lengthy midweek trip to worry about, a visit to Leeds United.

Three out of their remaining four night slots will be on home soil, with Town currently 12-games unbeaten in evening kick-offs at Kenilworth Road, their last defeat over two years ago, when Wycombe won 3-2 on January 30, 2018.

Hylton added: “We love a Tuesday night at the Kenny, our record there is quite good.

“We’re happy and whenever the games come, we’ll make sure we’re ready.

“We’ll prepare properly for every game and we’ll give it our all.”