Newton’s delight at return to Hatters squad

FIT-again Adam Newton is thrilled to be back in the Hatters squad for their FA Trophy semi-final first leg trip to Mansfield on Sunday afternoon, writes Mike Simmonds.

The 30-year-old has been restricted to just seven appearances this season, and hasn’t featured since the league match at home to Mansfield on September 28 due to an Achilles injury.

Newton had feared he would miss the remainder of the season, so was naturally delighted to be back in contention for this weekend’s match.

He said: “The gaffer’s been very kind to me, bringing me back in straight away.

“It’s an important game, a semi-final, so it’s nice to be part of it and any way I can gee the lads up, I will.

“We all know how important the game is. It’s a chance to play at Wembley, a chance to play in front of so many Luton Town fans. In the back of our minds promotion is the key, but this is just another sweetener which sets you up for the season.”

Haters have already beaten Mansfield in the Blue Square Bet Premier this season, but Newton is aware that league form won’t play a part in the two-legged affair.

He added: “They are two important games, but we’ll go into it with confidence.

“We’re playing all right at the minute, we’re more than confident about doing a job up there.

“Psychologically, we are the away team. We’ve always got the security where we think we’re stronger being at home for the second leg, but with the ability and talent we’ve got in our squad, we’re more then capable of getting the right result and the right performance in the first leg.

“So I’m pretty sure we’ll get the right result on Sunday.”