Town midfielder desperate to be in Luton's starting XI for Championship opener with Burnley

​Hatters midfielder Jordan Clark is relishing the opportunity to force his way into Luton’s starting XI for their Championship season opener at Burnley in just over a fortnight’s time.

​The 30-year-old didn't have the opportunity to do so last season, as with the Town out in Germany to take on Vfl Bochum in a friendly clash, he, along with Dan Potts both suffered ankle ligament damage as the former Accrington winger was ruled out of the opening three months of Luton’s Premier League campaign.

This term though, he is fully fit and firing, opening his account with a coolly-taken penalty in the 2-2 draw against Dundee United on Friday evening. Discussing the benefits of being fully fit for the season ahead, and his hopes on being in the side that takes on the Clarets at Kenilworth Road, Clark said: “It was a kick in the nuts last time, so I’m just trying to do everything I can now, especially as I’m getting a little bit older now.

"Recovery-wise, eating everything better, the right things and we’ve got all the facilities here now at the training ground which is top notch. I just want to get as many games as I can, get as fit as I can, as I want to be in that starting eleven come the Burnley game, so I’m just looking forward to it now.”

Clark has had plenty of minutes for the Hatters so far, featuring against AGF at the Brache, Rukh Lviv and Goztepe out in Slovenia, and then getting just over an hour at Tannadice as well. He believes it will help him get ready for the rigours of the second tier once more, adding: “You can train as much as you want, but the main aim is to play as many minutes as you can in the games. That’s where you get your proper fitness and going up against players who want to kick you and you want to kick them back.

"In training sometimes it’s a little bit nicey-nicey as you’re all pally, so the games are where it’s at. All the staff are really good here so if you’re a bit tired one day, they’ll look after you and you can just go in the gym and do your recovery stuff there as we’ve got everything in the gym for recovery. We’ve got to just make sure we use it, every player’s got to do what they can to be their best self and come the first game of the season, everyone’s ready to go.”