More to come but Naismith insists he’s a better player following Luton return

Although declaring he is a better player than he was during his first spell at Kenilworth Road, defender Kal Naismith insists there is even more to come from him in a Hatters shirt.

The 33-year-old returned to Luton on loan from Bristol City in January, and following a campaign dogged with injury at Ashton Gate, was eased back into first team football, eventually being named in the starting line-up for the 1-0 loss at Sheffield United and 1-1 draw against Plymouth Argyle. During those two matches, Naismith showed Hatters fans exactly what he had to offer, with two commanding displays in the centre of what was now a back three deployed by boss Matt Bloomfield, showing he had lost none of his calmness in possession either.

A tight hamstring saw him miss the 2-0 defeat to Watford, before he was thankfully able to feature on Saturday during what was a vital 1-0 win over one of his former clubs in Portsmouth, the former Scottish youth international a steadying influence on full debutant Christ Makosso and Amari’i Bell, as Town gave their hopes of staying up a huge boost.

For Naismith there is more to come too, as he said: “I feel better in so many ways. I don’t even want to talk about it, but my time out, not playing and injuries, people say they don’t notice it, but I need to get fitter, I know. I'm my own biggest critic and when it gets to 60, 70 minutes, I used to breeze through games at centre back as I was used to playing in attacking positions all my days where it's a lot more physically demanding.

"So I need to get fitter, I need to work harder, I need to get better, but I feel a better player, definitely better mentally, I’m in a better spot. I had an amazing season when I was here, but I can read the game better. I feel like I’m better, but I’m a little bit older and I need to get better still.”

Naismith’s impact certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by manager Matt Bloomfield, who speaking about a player who has made sure Town have conceded just two goals in the three matches he has played, continued: “Kal plays for himself but he plays for the group. Kal’s voice and experience and know-how, I think we’ve seen in the three performances here, the influence that Kal has had on our group already and will continue to have. He does nothing but help everyone around him, he’s going to be a big player for us between now and the end of the season.”

Those thoughts were echoed by Jordan Clark, who was at Kenilworth Road when Naismith had his first spell with the club back in the 2021-22 campaign, as the match-winner from Saturday said: “He’s just class isn’t he. You can see his touches, bringing the ball out of the air on his chest, we knew he had that. It’s just a case of keeping him fit now.

"When he left here, he had quite a few injuries since he went to Bristol but if we can keep him fit here, he’ll be such a massive player for us as he’s got that top, top quality and his leadership as well. He’s such a good character, I love him to bits. He organises everyone, he makes your job so much easier. Even for me in front of him, he’s telling me where to be, where to go, track your man, things like that. As a midfield player it makes your job so much easier and he’s just a top guy to have around the place.”

The one thing that Naismith hadn’t enjoyed since heading back to Bedfordshire was that feeling of securing three points, although that changed at the weekend, Clark’s goal ending the club’s 12-game winless streak as they climbed off the bottom of the table. The recent addition felt his team-mates are showing exactly the kind of spirit needed to avoid an embarrassing relegation to League One as well, adding: “It feels amazing, I think we deserved it with how we’ve been working, how we've been training, how we've been remaining positive in a difficult situation.

"Staff members as well, it's not just the players, it's everyone involved with the club. I'm just delighted for everybody, fans as well. They clapped us off against Sheffield United when we got nothing, so it’s good to give them three points. When you’re in a tough situation like we are, it’s easy to be negative, it’s easy to point fingers and blame everything, ‘we're not getting anything and refs are wrong,’ blaming your team-mates, everybody, but that's not been happening here and that's what makes me the most proud.

"It's easy when you’re winning every week and everyone’s great, everyone’s brilliant, but when you realise about characters and people you want in your changing room, it’s when you’re in the dumps. We’ve got an unbelievable group, regardless of what happens between now and the end of the season, we’re all with each other, staff, players, fans as well. We're in it together and we'll give it a right go.”