Luton's on-loan Bristol City defender won't give his own future any thought until the Hatters are safe

On-loan Luton defender Kal Naismith won’t give his long-term future any thought until he has achieved his goal of securing Championship status for the Hatters this season.

The 33-year-old returned to Kenilworth Road for his second spell in January, borrowed by Town until the end of the campaign from fellow second tier side Bristol City. He has done his bit so far, playing eight times as Town are still in with a serious shout of staying up, recalled to the starting line-up to play a pivotal role in the 1-0 win at relegation rivals Derby County on Good Friday.

Although Naismith was unable to feature in the 3-1 success over his parent club on Easter Monday, the result means Town remained level on points with fourth bottom Derby County, also within reach of catching Hull City, Preston North End and Oxford United with two matches to go. Despite his contract at Ashton Gate ending this summer, finishing above the dotted line is the only thing on the Scot’s mind at the moment, as asked if he would like to return to Luton on a permanent basis, he said: “It’s honestly something that I’ve not thought about.

"When I spoke to the people at the club, just my whole sacrifice for when I signed for the end of the season was to keep the club in the league. If I fall short of that I’d feel gutted, it would break my heart as the club gave so much to me. I obviously left and to come back when the club is in a difficult spell, if I could give that to them by helping in any way along with the rest of the players, I’d just be so proud of that. If I achieve that I’ll be as proud of that as anything I’ve done in my career so that’s my main focus for now.”

Having earned his place in the side after regaining full fitness, impressing in the matches against Sheffield United, Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth, it looked like Naismith would go on to play a huge role in the club’s attempts at avoiding the drop to League One. However, he was then sent off after receiving two bookings inside the opening 20 minutes of Town’s 4-0 loss at Burnley, restricted to a place on the bench in the next five games as boss Matt Bloomfield stuck with his back three of Christ Makosso, Mark McGuinness and Amari’i Bell.

Naismith admitted he couldn’t really have any complaints about being left out after committing what he felt was a huge mistake on his part, continuing: “It hindered me, but it’s not about me, it hindered the team. I’m just so disappointed because we were on a great run, we were going into that Burnley game and I thought we started the game, the first 10 minutes, well.

"You never know, but I had a really good feeling on the pitch. I had a hype for the game and it was a massive error from me and I let the boys down that day. Then of course when you’ve got great defenders like Amari’i, Macca and Christ, who have been absolutely amazing. I’ve been proud to see how well they’ve done and it’s hard to get back in the team.

"You've got Walshy (Liam Walsh) in the midfield who has done amazing, but that’s why you’ve got a squad and I was just proud of the lads the run they were on. A win at Cardiff, very unlucky against Middlesbrough, a point at Leeds, so you can’t sort of sit back and say I should be in the team as I made the mistake. It cost the team and it ultimately cost me playing games.”

Asked how frustrating it was being restricted to just five minutes of first team action at such an important time in the campaign, that coming during the 1-0 success at Hull City, Naismith added: “It was and it wasn’t. It’s tough, every footballer wants to play and especially when the games are so big and I’m so passionate about the club and I want to help so bad, to sit there helpless, relying on the other boys, just praying they can do it, but they’ve been excellent.

"I’ve been proud of the performances as have everyone. I just told myself, keep training well, keep doing the right things, keep influencing as much as you can off the pitch and if you’re needed for two games, three games, or just 10 minutes, make sure it’s the best 10 minutes you could ever play for the club, and hopefully it leads to us staying up. Ultimately that’s what it’s about. It’s not about me or any individual, it’s about the club, so I’m happy to play whatever role I’m needed to play.”