Town midfielder insists struggling Hatters have a 'mentality problem'
Northern Ireland international knws things have to change at Kenilworth Road
Midfielder George Saville believes the Hatters have developed a ‘mentality problem’ which simply has to change after falling to yet another defeat at the weekend, a result that saw manager Matt Bloomfield ultimately lose his job.
Town’s 2-0 loss against Stevenage was Luton’s fifth of the season already, from 11 games, nowhere near good enough for a team with promotion aspirations this term. It was also their 52nd reverse in 95 league outings since the summer of 2023, when they won promotion to the Premier League, dropping out of the Championship in that time too.
Although Saville has only been around for a short period of time, joining on a free transfer in July having left second tier outfit Millwall, the Northern Ireland international has felt the dark cloud from back-to-back relegations is still hanging over the club, and desperately needs to be moved on if the Hatters are going to turn their fortunes around.
Town weren’t without their chances at the Lamex Stadium either, Cohen Bramall firing over the bar in the opening 10 minutes, with Lasse Nordas shooting against keeper Filip Marschall’s legs before the hour mark too. However, Chem Campbell curled home on 65 minutes for Boro, with Jordan Roberts adding a second shortly afterwards, leaving a despondent Saville to say: “Confidence and mentality is a big part of winning games. As a team it’s been quite negative and miserable for the last couple of years, so it’s trying to shift that mentality. Today is obviously not going to help, it just seems like you concede and it almost feels like it’s a here we go again kind of feel. So we need to show some courage, mentality, pick ourselves up and get to work.
“On Tuesday (at Blackpool) we’re just giving soft goals away and chances away, but we came back and today we didn’t. We started that second half so well and should have scored, but we never and it just feels like the ball goes up the other end and hits the back of the net. It’s demoralising really. It just seems like a theme at the minute and we need to shift that.
“Plymouth (3-2 loss), we’re trying to push for a winner, ball goes out for a corner, hits someone on the head and goes in. Blackpool (2-2 draw), 1-0 down, we’re pushing, they break, goal, 2-0. Today we played our way into the game, away from home, nothing much in that first half, second half we come out bright, move the ball well, give ourselves a platform to win the game and again the ball breaks, goal. It seems to be a bit of a theme at the minute, giving soft goals away.
"For me I think the whole mentality of the football club, everywhere, on and off the pitch, has to change, it’s the only thing I can think of. Maybe it’s emotional saying that straight after a defeat but I can only think of a mentality problem as the lads are working hard every day, we're driving it, doing what we can but we’re just not there at the minute.”
On how they go about actually changing that mentality within the club, Saville, who will be away with his country this week, added: “It feels a bit like one step forward two steps back at the minute. We’ve just got to go to work, we've got to show bravery and courage and all the rest of it, When the chips are down, it’s look around and see who stands up to it.
"I certainly won't be hiding away, I’ll be on the front line and we need to get to work. We need to work even harder, it needs to mean something to us and that’s all we can do. Something will drop for us and we just have to build off that and try to build something here. We’re in it together. I’ve said it in there, I enjoy going to work every day, it’s disappointing losing games, but it’s a great football club and it’s a good environment.
"I’m new coming in, I can’t put my finger on it. We’re in a division which is tough and we’ll have games like this. Stevenage away, they’re doing well and they’re strong at what they’re good at. They know what they’re doing, they just love that and don’t do anything too fancy, but they fight for 90 minutes. We just need to pick ourselves up, work even harder and just turn it around.”