Naismith determined to show Luton's doubters that the Hatters can stay up

Luton returnee Kal Naismith insists that getting the chance to prove wrong anyone who doubts the Hatters have it in them to escape relegation back to League One this term is a situation he definitely wants to be involved in this season.

The 30-year-old opted to move back to Kenilworth Road for his second spell as a Town player last month, agreeing to rejoin a club whom he spent 18 months with between January 2021 and May 2022, named Player of the Season before moving to Bristol City. He left a Town team who had just been beaten in the play-offs by Huddersfield Town, then having to watch on as Luton did go up the following campaign, having a solitary season in the Premier League which ultimately ended in relegation.

There are now huge fears that could turn into a double drop, as last night’s 2-0 defeat at Sunderland left the Hatters bottom of the table and two points from safety, with the clubs above them starting to put some real daylight between them and Matt Bloomfield’s side too. Although Town are now 1/1 with Sky Bet to be playing third tier football next term, Naismith is convinced his side have the ability to avoid the drop, and is relishing being given the chance to make sure that happens.

He said: “I feel as a player you can look at it and say we’re in a scrap, it’s not a good time, but for me I look at these moments and these are the moments you want to be in, when everyone’s doubting you, when you’re down there, and say ‘let’s go and show people, show everyone.’ We’ll be standing side by side as players, we’ll be right behind each other. It fuels me and I know it will the others. We’re fierce competitors. You look at what the lads have done and that’s the biggest thing, we’ve got each other, the staff, the players.

"We’ll look at each other in the eyes, we’ll have honest conversations with each other, but we know we’re there for each other. There’s a lot of football to played so I’m looking forward to it. It’s good being up there in the league and fighting for that. We’ve done that at this club and it’s incredible, but also being down there it teaches you a lot about yourself and your team-mates and your squad and I’m looking forward to the run-in now, let’s go.

Having left Kenilworth Road when the club were well and truly on the up and watching from afar as Town pitted their wits against the best the land had to offer last term, Naismith admitted it was something of a surprise to see the club in the kind of trouble they have found themselves in this season. He continued: “I am, to be honest. Obviously no-one saw it, but it’s the Championship, there’s so many good teams so when you don’t start well and the momentum goes against you, it’s then hard and it’s a battle.

"I don’t like speaking about where the club should be, we’re here, lets go now, lets go. The manager’s come in, he’s been incredibly positive. The place has been brilliant still, an amazing feel, a family feel, so I just want to get back to the Kenny now, get with the fans and build that momentum that makes it just such a hard a place to come again, so I’m looking forward to it.”

With Naismith returning to Town as one of the most experienced members of the squad, then he is looking to use those leadership skills to help some of the younger players get through the final 15 games of the season with the outcome they all want, stating: “Regardless of your age or what you’ve done, you need to be confident out there and you need to have a voice.

"The lads have been great in training, the boys have been top, a big voice, demanding from each other, pushing each other. I’ll come in and just be myself. I think everybody at Luton knows that I’m vocal, constantly trying to help people around about me. I’m an unselfish player and that’s what I’ve been brought in to do, try and help as many people as I can, while obviously performing at a high level. That’s my game. If I’m just out there looking after myself I don’t get any joy from that. I like to try and help people and that’s what I’m here to do.”

Naismith does have some prior knowledge of a relegation battle at Wigan Athletic in the 2019-20 Championship campaign when Luton themselves were in serious danger of the drop themselves, the season broken up by the coronavirus pandemic. The ex-Rangers youngster helped the Latics win eight and draw four of their last 13 games, only for Athletic to suffer a points deduction that saw them eventually go down, as the Hatters under Nathan Jones stayed up.

On the experience, he said: “We ended up going down but that was because we had a really big points deduction. We had a chance from January onwards. We had a lot of ground to make up and we did really, really well. We went down by two points in the end, but we did amazing, we really scrapped.”

One plus is that Luton do have time on their side in which to climb out of the drop zone, 15 games in fact, as they face all six of the teams directly above them in the coming weeks. That was something Naismith was eager to point out too, adding: “It’s a fight, it’s a tough league and we are where we are, but we’ve got lots to play for and lots of games.

"We know where we are, that’s the important thing. It’s easy to just say ‘we’ll be fine, we’ll be fine,’ but I think as a group we know where we are and it’s time to go. You’ve seen it tonight, we were working hard, we were trying our best up against a good side and it’s disappointing, but we've got to dust ourselves down and we go again at the weekend.

“There’s plenty of football to be played, but it’s about recognising the position you’re in and where we are and what we need to do and improve on as a unit, but we’ve got each other, we know that. It’s not like the changing room has gone, honestly, since I’ve come in the standard of training, around the place, has been amazing. It’s really good so I’m quietly confident but I also know that we need to do it on the pitch now and that’s what we’ll be looking to do.”