Shaw urges Town to build from the back

Building from the back is a sign of potential champions according to striker Jon Shaw, writes Mike Simmonds.
Jon Shaw is looking forward to getting on the end of Dave Martin's deliveriesJon Shaw is looking forward to getting on the end of Dave Martin's deliveries
Jon Shaw is looking forward to getting on the end of Dave Martin's deliveries

Town kept their second successive clean sheet on Tuesday night in the 1-0 win over Stockport Conty, making it four in six games under new manager John Still.

Shaw, who was back in the starting line-up, said: “My aim is to win this league however it takes. Teams get out of this league without scoring many goals. Look at Wrexham. Their top scorer is on 15 and there’s not another player above eight.

“It’s built from being solid at the back.

“If we’d have won the league by winning 40 games 1-0 or drawn 0-0 every other week and I’ve had scored five or 10 goals all season, there still would have been nobody happier than me.

“That’s the main thing in this league, teams that go on and win the league don’t concede many.”

Centre half Steve McNulty was of the same opinion too, although admitted a changing defence had made it tougher to get an understanding going.

He said: “It’s been hard. The new gaffer coming in and putting his own things in place and the stuff he wants to do.

“He’s had to chop and change the team around to look at every player before the end of the season to decide who he wants to keep and who he wants to go.

“You can’t come here (Kenilworth Road) and give people goals and have to score two or three goals to win football matches. It’s important that we do keep clean sheets the past couple of weeks.

“Everyone’s coming in and are trying to impress the new manager, people are out of contract, but we can’t have any excuses as anyone who comes into Luton Town is a good player.”

Manager John Still is already making his own imprint on the side and from the first six matches, Shaw admits it might be different to what Luton’s supporters are used to.

He added: “The fans want us to go out there and play expansive football and win four or five, but you have to be patient. It’s not as easy as people think it is.

“Teams are a lot better than people think they are. When the manager comes in, he does make his mark on the team and to change the way people are playing is going to take time.

“(Jake) Howells been here a long time, but I don’t think he’s played this kind of game as it’s not very typical of Luton, but at the same time, we’re not conceding goals.

“As long as we realise our attackers have got to attack and break gives license to people like the wingers. I’m sure the gaffer is bringing in people who know how to play this system,

“We’ve settled down, stopped conceding. It’s still bright between now and end of the season, whether we’ve got enough in us to get there, who knows.”

One thing that Still has regularly admitted is that he enjoys playing with wingers, which was music to Shaw’s ears.

Town’s goal against Stockport in midweek came from McNulty after another excellent cross from Dave Martin, this time from a corner as Shaw added: “We’ve got set things to do, the gaffer makes a big thing about the amount of goals that are scored from set pieces. We know the amount we’ve conceded, so to get Macca on a header, I’m glad for him.

“He’s (Martin) got a very good left foot, we have seen it in training and I can’t wait for him to start whipping them on to my head.

“(Jake) Howells has really captured himself back again, even playing out on the right. His confidence is back and the way that he’s running past players is fantastic, then you just have to get yourself in the right position and take the chance when it comes.”

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