Johnson starts as Hatters make three changes for Stevenage clash

Luton Town have made three changes for this evening’s League One clash against Stevenage.

Academy graduate Joe Johnston makes his first start of the league campaign in place of the injured Harrison Ashby and moves to the left wingback role, while Manchester United loanee Dan Gore is back in, as is Callum Marshall, Nahki Wells and Jake Richards dropping to the bench.

Speaking about the contest, the third game running Town will come up against a side who have scored five in their previous game, Boro getting their opening third tier victory of the campaign when thrashing Barnsley 5-1 at Oakwell, Town boss Jack Wilshere said: “The key is and everyone is going to say it, every coach, is consistency. The more you can see a consistent team with consistent behaviours, consistently behaving, the more or the closer you get to consistent results.

"That’s how we work here, we’re always chasing that. Of course it’s always the case that results will dictate the mood and how you feel, but if you can chase a consistent performance and be consistent with your messages all the time, we’ve got evidence that last year, you started to see a more consistent team with more consistent results, so the league is a bit like that at the moment and we’re doing all we can to make sure we are consistent.”

On the recalled Gore, who has made one start and one substitute outing since arriving from Old Trafford, Wilshere continued: “He’s another good footballer from a top club, had a really good education, understands the game, needs some time to understand us and understand his team-mates around him to build connections, but good players can connect with good players quickly.

"He came out of the team against Leyton Orient because he hasn’t played that much football, that was the reason. We wanted him on the pitch at the end to try and help us find the winner, but a good footballer who’s going to help us. He had quite a busy and a lot of games early on in pre-season, but then he didn’t play much. Everyone knows I think the best way at times is just to throw them in and let them experience it. He was good and I think there’s more to come from him.”

Town themselves were held to a 1-1 draw by Leyton Orient at the weekend despite dominating, as Wilshere added: “There some non-negotiable things you have to do at this level, if you do that, if you run, if you outwork, if you fight, I believe that how we try and play and the players we’ve got to be able to do that, then more times than not we’ll win games. That’s the process, you’re not always going to get that right and there's always going to be a little bit of chaos, especially in this league, League One, but I believe if we play like that, more often than not we’ll win.”

Boro: Tommy Setford, Luther James-Wildin, Carl Piergianni, Lewis Freestone, Daniel Phillips, Josh Magennis, Dan Kemp, Jordan Roberts, Terence Vancooten, Oliver Sanderson, Louis Thompson. Subs: Daniel Barden, Jordan Houghton, Saxon Earley, Kaelan Casey, Matt Smith, Ben Broggio, Michael Mellon.

Hatters: Jake Keeley, Izzy Jones, Hakeem Odoffin, Mads Andersen, George Johnston, Joe Johnson, Liam Walsh, Dan Gore, Gideon Kodua, Jamie Donley, Callum Marshall. Subs: James Shea, Kal Naismith, Jake Richards, Harry Fox, Nahki Wells, Kasey Palmer, Tudor Mendel. Referee: Andrew Humphries.