Luton chief wants Town to gain some ground on their relegation rivals

Town chief Matt Bloomfield wants his side to put the pressure on the rest of the teams in the fight to stay in the Championship this term by gaining some ground with victory at Hull City in the early kick-off this afternoon.

Luton take on the Tigers at the MKM Stadium at 12.30pm, the game shown live on Sky Sports, at the same time as bottom side Plymouth Argyle go to Watford. Victory for the Hatters would see them go level on points with Derby County and to within one of both Cardiff and Stoke City, the trio all playing 3pm, also closing the gap to three points on their hosts as well.

Asked if they could use that to their advantage in the battle to remain in the second tier, Bloomfield said: “Of course, absolutely. I think it’s really important to do our bit and if we can do our bit and attach that to results elsewhere then great, but first and foremost we have to make sure we do our business. There’s lots of different psychology around it for different teams. We know what we’re fighting for, we know we’ve got to make up some ground and we’re eager to do so.

“We spoke about it before the Cardiff game and we tried not to over elaborate on what it may or may not mean, but of course every game is going to be really, really critical for us, really crucial for us. Every game is really important and all the three points that we’re competing for, we have to get as many as we can. We know that, we know where we are right now, so it’s going to be a big game and one we’re ready for.

“Of course at this time of the season everyone looks at other results, that’s just human nature, but it’s about us. We have to do what we’re good at. We’ve been playing well in the last four games, we’ve picked up some good results and we believe we could have picked up more from those. We have to repeat that and we have to improve on it and we have to make sure the points go on our column. We know the challenge, but we concentrate on ourselves and we do the job that we’re here to do.”

With eight games to go, Town are coming up against sides at all ends of the table, three relegation rivals, one title-chaser and four who are still currently in with a shout of the play-offs as well. On whether what is on the line could lead to some cautious affairs, Bloomfield continued: “At this stage of the season, whether you’re at the top or fighting for points at the other end, there’s always potential for it to be cagey because of how much is riding on it. All of us want to be participating in games that are open and attacking and there’s lots of excitement, but away from home we need to be solid and if it’s cagey then cool.

"As long as we’re organised, we’re structured, I think we’ve looked a lot more disciplined recently, a lot more organised, a lot more structured, the goals against column is coming back in our favour and we need to make sure that continues. It’s competitive and that's what this time of the season is all about, it’s the exciting bit and it’s one that we all want to be a part of. Obviously we’d all rather be competing at the top and the excitement of getting out of the league, but we know the challenge ahead and we’re ready for it.”

In the way of the Hatters this afternoon is a Hull side who began the season in terrible form, winning just three from their opening 20 league games and losing six in a row at one point. That saw former Reading manager Rubén Sellés take over in December, leading City out of the bottom three, with three wins and three draws from their last seven fixtures.

Giving his thoughts on the opposition Town will face, Bloomfield said: “I’ve played against Ruben’s teams a couple of times over the years and they’re always well organised, high energy, want to play out from the back, but they’ve also got a threat in behind as well. They’ve got some good one v one players in wide areas, I like their midfield make-up and they’re a good team.

“They’ve got some good threats we’ve got to be aware of, at the top of the pitch, (Joe) Gelhardt, (Abu) Kamara, they’ve got some good players individually as well. They’re well organised, so we’ve got to be aware of that and we are, then we’ve got to go and play as ourselves. They’ve picked up some good results recently and they’ll be full of confidence, but we’ve been in good shape recently and we’re full of confidence too.”

Town will hopefully be cheered on by another large backing in Humberside, who have seen their team win the last three trips to City, with stunning goals from Kazenga LuaLua, James Bree and Henri Lansbury. Asked for a message for those who make the trip, Bloomfield added: “Thank you for your backing, sing loud, sing proud, back the boys, the boys will give it everything.

"They’re ready to go, we’ve got to make sure that come 12.30 we’re at it. As soon as the first whistle goes, we want to give our supporters a performance to be proud of, that’s really important to me and really important to us. As we saw with the final whistle scenes at Cardiff, we want to celebrate, so thank you for your support. Be loud, back the boys, I’m sure they will, they always do and let’s hope that we’ve got something to celebrate with them at the end.”