Winning mentality is crucial for Hatters first team coach after Posh are latest to be defeated

Town first team coach Alan Sheehan insists that a winning mentality is vital, even during pre-season, after the Hatters made it five wins out of five last night.

The 2-0 victory at League One Peterborough means that Luton have defeated Hitchin Town, NK Bravo, Gillingham and Northampton Town in preparation for the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 11 goals in the process and conceding just three.

Although the matches are used as warm-ups for the opening day of the Championship season when Town go up against Birmingham at Kenilworth Road on July 30, Sheehan highlighted the significance of putting victories on the board at this early stage.

He said: “It’s important, you want to get fitness and minutes in and get people through without injury, but you want to grow that winning mentality.

“That’s what good clubs do, that’s what this club does.

“We’re used to winning games as we showed last year and it’s about kicking on, breeding that winning mentality and taking it to that next level again.”

Town didn’t have it all their own way against a Posh side relegated to third tier last term, as keeper Matt Macey made a number of decent saves throughout the match, none better than denying Sammie Szmodics when he went clean through in the second half.

An unmarked Jonson Clarke-Harris also headed over, with Szmodics rolling wide when faced with just substitute stopper Harry Isted to beat in the final minute.

Luton made the most of their hosts’ prolificacy, Cauley Woodrow expertly curling home a first half free kick and then Harry Cornick’s cross deflecting in late on, as Sheehan added: “It was a really good, competitive game against a team we had a competitive game against in the league at the end of last season (1-1 draw).

“We expected nothing less, you come here you don’t get easy games, which is really, really pleasing for pre-season.

“You get people minutes into the bank and it was a really, really pleasing night.”