Luton defender hails 'important' clean sheet against Blades after Blues drubbing

Town defender Reece Burke felt Saturday’s clean sheet against former Premier League side Sheffield United was a hugely important one for the club as a whole.

The Hatters had been rocked on home soil the previous weekend when they were breached five times by Birmingham City, falling to a heaviest defeat since June 2020.

However this time at Kenilworth Road, the Luton defence had no troubles in blunting a Blades attack that contained Billy Sharp and Oli McBurnie, with £22.5m attacker Rian Brewster coming off the bench late on, restricting them to just a single shot on target.

Speaking afterwards, Burke, 24, who was one of three changes made by manager Nathan Jones following their Blues debacle, said: “It’s important for everyone to respond.

“It’s important for us to do it ourselves and for the fans, that was the main thing, to respond from last week which I felt the boys dug in and did that.

“It’s a positive, I’ve always said it throughout my career, if you don’t concede, you don’t lose the game, so it’s (clean sheet) something I enjoy getting.

“It’s a good buzz for defenders and it would have been nice if we did get the win.

“If you’ve got a clean sheet, the defence, midfield, Slugs (Simon Sluga), everyone has played a part and it’s something that we try and do every game.”

The fact that Luton didn’t concede against a side who were in the top flight last term made it even sweeter for Burke, himself making his Hatters debut following a free transfer move from Hull City in the summer.

He continued: “Sheffield United played in the Premier League, they’re a team that everyone expects to do well this season.

“They’ve got some very, very good players and we’ve competed against that no problem, so it just shows you we’ve got a good squad.

“They’ve got Olie McBurnie up top who’s a threat, crosses and long balls, flick-ons, so on that side, it was good to compete with him.

“They’ve got experience and they’ve played in the Premier League as well, so it’s about concentrating and doing our job well to get a clean sheet and I think everyone did that all the game.

“I thought I did it quite well too, but being tall as a defender does help you.

“It helps my experience playing against better players week in week out as well so I had to stay switched on and keep pushing until the end.”

Although the Blades had almost 70 per cent possession, Burke and central defensive partner Kal Naismith were part of a back-line that not just kept a shut-out, but did so comfortably, something the former West Ham youngster was also impressed with.

He said: “Me and Kal spoke after the game, and I think there were maybe two half chances for them, but overall we had the better chances to win the game.

“It just goes to show that we’re competing with a top side which is a positive, and a clean sheet is something we look forward to as defenders.”

Starting alongside 29-year-old Naismith, who has played for Rangers, Portsmouth and Wigan in his decade-long career was a big plus for Burke too, as he added: “He’s a great lad, a great leader, I noticed that as soon as I came into the club.

“I really enjoyed playing alongside him, I still class myself as young in my career and building on and I will learn a lot from him.”