McGuinness calls for calm as he predicts Hatters' fortunes will turn

​New Luton defender Mark McGuinness insists it’s important that the Hatters don’t let their emotions get the better of them after a disappointing start to the season.

​The imposing centre half completed his hotly anticipated move to Kenilworth Road from fellow Championship side Cardiff City recently, signing for what was described as ‘significant’ undisclosed fee, thought to have eclipsed Luton's previous record signing which was around £5m for Ryan Giles last summer. McGuinness was straight into the Town starting line-up at Preston on Saturday, taking his place in the centre of the back three, as although he delivered an excellent individual performance, it wasn’t enough to prevent the Hatters suffering a second defeat from three matches, beaten 1-0.

Luton now go up against QPR on home soil this evening with just a point to their name, having scored just a single goal in the opening 270 minutes of second tier football, as they had 17 shots during their trip to Lancashire, but only four of them on target. Despite that stat, McGuinness was remaining confident, as he said: “Mixed emotions. It’s obviously lovely to get out there on the pitch and see the fans, I think performance-wise, we were just lacking that end product, but there was plenty to build on. It’s a long season, I think the hardest part is not getting too emotional.

"There’s plenty of games and as long as we keep doing the right things, which we are, then it will turn for us and those opportunities become goals. I thought we were dominant in most aspects, it was just that final ball, we lacked that little bit of quality, but that’s football. Their goal has come from a counter-attack and they had one chance on goal. I think there’s plenty to build on and for me, I was happy to be on the grass and make my debut.

"The most important thing is we’re doing the right things as the minute we start changing things and trying to do things that we’re not used to then that causes problems, but the fact that we’re doing the right things and we’re getting the opportunities, they’re going to go in. We’re going to get that break and once that happens, I think we’ll get those results.

“There’s no doubt that we’ve got the quality, I see it in the changing room. I’ve only been around the boys for a week but we’ve got quality in every area, we’ve got competition in every area, and that’s only going to drive the boys and improve the boys, improve the squad. So I’m confident that change is going to come soon."

Despite only signing a few days before the game, McGuinness was thrust straight into the side that took to the field, alongside Teden Mengi and Amari’i Bell in the Hatters’ back three. The centre half was quick to show his aerial presence during the contest, but also a willingness to receive the ball from keeper James Shea and get Town’s attacks going as well. On his role, he continued: “It’s part of the game now, I’m more than comfortable to do it.

"I enjoy it, I hope I can add that to the team and hopefully the boys can trust me and we build up from the back, as that’s where it starts and I look forward to showcasing that a bit more. I was only in training for a couple of days but I was ready, I felt good, so thankfully the gaffer put his trust in me. Those boys (Mengi and Bell) are top class, they’ve got experience in the Premier League as well, so I think we can work really well together.”

Having joined a team that has just been relegated from the top flight, McGuinness has already noticed the pressure of being one of the favourites to win promotion this season. However, it’s something he will thrive on though, adding: “That comes with that Premier League status that they had last season, but that should drive us and we should enjoy that, I certainly will enjoy that. It should put pressure on us, but ultimately we’ve got to perform. As I said, that will come, it’s a long season, 46 games, we’re only three in now, so we’ve got a long way to go.”