Match-winner Clark admits Luton's players shared some 'honest truths' after Terriers loss

Luton match-winner Jordan Clark revealed there were a number of ‘honest truths’ raised between the Town players ahead of their much-needed 1-0 win over Blackpool on Saturday.

The Hatters had wasted two glorious chances to try and force their way into the top six during the seven days beforehand, beaten 1-0 at Plymouth Argyle the previous Saturday, while they then disappointingly went down by the same scoreline to fellow play-off challengers Huddersfield Town on Tuesday evening, despite the hosts playing with 10 men for over an hour.

It meant that Luton, whose goal of winning promotion has been made clear to them this season by the club’s hierarchy, dropped to six points behind the play-off places, with 18 games to go. Clark himself, who was part of the side that were beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 in the Premier League just over two years ago, and then earning a 4-4 draw at Newcastle United, gave a particularly disconsolate interview at the Accu Stadium in midweek, admitting things are ‘not right’ on the road, as Town made it six away games without a victory, taking just a solitary point in that time.

That saw the squad get together for a meeting before the weekend’s contest, clearly determined to put things right during the run-in, with nine of their remaining matches outside of Bedfordshire, as Clark said: “We had a good meeting with the players on Thursday, a lot of honest truths especially regarding the away form, but also that we've got to focus on the next two home games. We'll address the away games when they come and it’s just forgetting what’s going to happen in the future, focus game by game now and take each day as it comes.

"We were down after the game which is normal as the away form has been letting us down, especially the last two away games. We’re always honest and open, we know things aren't good enough away from home, but we watched the game back and watched the clips back and we’ve got to learn from our mistakes as we always do."

Clark himself was a major reason that Town were able to put the week behind them and end January on high note, as his goal with 19 minutes to go was enough to defeat a Blackpool side whose intentions to leave with a point were clear from the word go. They gave themselves every chance of doing just that, until Clark was in the right place to fire home via a slight deflection once Seasiders defender Zac Ashworth had made a hash of clearing Joe Johnson’s cross.

It saw the midfielder up to eight goals for the campaign as on the significance of the victory, with fifth placed Bradford City heading to Bedfordshire this weekend, he continued: “It’s a massive win. We know our home form has been really good, so we had to get the win by any means necessary and I’m just buzzing to do that.

"We've found a formula at home at the minute and we’re just really happy to keep that going. It was one of those games, they’re in a bit of a tough run away from home and as a lot of teams do when they come here, they put a lot of players behind the ball, so we've got to get in behind them, we’ve got to take chances, take shots, put balls in the box.

"Obviously it was a little bit of luck, not the best cross and not the best clearance, but luckily it fell to me and I’m just buzzing to see it hit the back of the net. It's part of playing a bit higher up, you’ve got to chip in with goals and long may it continue. I love this place, love the fans, they've been great for me since day one, but we’ve just got to keep going now as a team, as we’ve got a massive home game next week.”

Meanwhile, boss Jack Wilshere, who had played Clark in a number nine role at Huddersfield on Tuesday, one of the main talking points from the fixture, was thrilled to see the long-serving player enjoying his most prolific campaign since arriving in the summer of 2020, especially after witnessing his disappointment in West Yorkshire. He added: “We spoke about him playing as a nine in the week and he didn’t play as a nine today, but one of the reasons was because of that, because he understands where the ball’s going to drop.

"He smells it, he’s got experience of it and then the most important thing is he’s calm in that final moment to put the ball in the net. I’m happy for Jordan as I saw him after the game the other day, the interview, he was down because he cares so much. He’s probably found it a little bit frustrating the last few games, he hasn’t quite found his rhythm but he’s so important to us, he’s so important to me and I’m glad that he got his moment.”