On-loan Luton midfielder Krauß knows that the Hatters have to be doing better
Former German U21 international wants to see an improvement in form
Luton’s on-loan midfielder Tom Krauß accepts that the Hatters simply have to be doing better than they have been since he arrived.
The highly-rated 23-year-old penned a season-long deal at Kenilworth Road back in August, joining from Bundesliga side Mainz, although initially didn’t feature until almost a month later due to ankle ligament damage picked up while training with his parent club. He eventually made his debut in the 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, immediately catching the eye with his very obvious enthusiasm and will to win, going on to start 13 of out of the last 16 matches, coming off the bench every time he hasn’t started as well.
Krauß hasn’t been able to kickstart the promotion push that Luton had coveted ahead of the campaign through, as they have struggled enormously on the road, losing seven straight matches which has kept them pinned to the bottom half of the table. Speaking to Sky Sports, Krauß knows that has to change, saying: “The results are good at home, but away from home it's not been good enough and we know that.
“We play at home I think good, I think we have one loss in eight games, but away we are not good. Seven games in a row without a win and we know that, we know the situation. The team has come from the Premier League and we have to be a bit better. But to do that we have to stay positive and to work hard with the team. That's really important, to keep our heads up.”
Discussing his own form, Krauß has been relatively happy with his performances since moving to play in England for the first time in his career. He is clearly a fan of the physical nature the Championship has to offer too, continuing: "I’m feeling better and better. For me the style of football in England is I think the perfect style. It's not perfect what happened with us in the last games obviously away, but for my own thing, for me I'm feeling better and better. I’m feeling the style of football is perfect for me as I’m a really intensive player.
"To win balls, be against the ball, I like that a lot, I played 10 years in Leipzig, so this style of football is good for me. In Germany there can be more control. In the Championship you're running left, right, left, right, it's crazy. In the first few weeks I had little problems with my hamstrings after games, but now I know why everyone always says it's the best second league in the world. I love playing in it. There are different styles but I remember saying to my dad after a few games that the quality in the league was so good. There are so many talented players here. I just want to work hard and learn every day here.”
One thing that Krauß is having to get used to during his time in this country is the amount of games that Town are having to play, as they are up to 21 league matches for the season already, seven more than the 14 played by Bundesliga teams. With German sides also afforded a winter break, something that doesn’t happen in England, the exact opposite in fact, Luton facing five games in just 17 days, if it means there is less training for the midfielder, then he is happy.
He said: “That's why I'm here. For me I know that we have 46 games, it's 26 games left and I like that. I don't like so much the training, for me it's perfect when I recover and then you have the next game, the next game, the next game. It's crazy for me, I was five weeks out in the first weeks with a little ligament injury and now I have 16 games. That's not normal when you're in Germany after four or five weeks out, you don't have so much games and I like that.”
The former German U21 international has already been extremely well received by Hatters fans, particularly for his efforts on home soil. Playing at Kenilworth Road is something that Krauß obviously relishes too, adding: "The stadium is small, but they make such a noise. And they are so near to the pitch. I love that as a player, being so close to the crowd. My dad has been over twice to watch me. Once for the derby against Watford, which was a great game for him to be at because we won so well at home. He said to me, 'this is real football because the crowd do everything for the game with the noise they make'."