O'Donnell relieved to be back in the Town side so swiftly

Hatters defender Stephen O'Donnell was relieved to get his place back in the Luton side so quickly after missing out with injury recently.
Hatters defender Stephen O'DonnellHatters defender Stephen O'Donnell
Hatters defender Stephen O'Donnell

The full back was in the starting line-up against Plymouth Argyle only to pull out just before kick-off due to his ankle problem flaring up again.

He then missed the 3-2 Checkatrade Trophy semi-final defeat to Oxford United as well, but was back in to face Yeovil and kept his spot for the 2-0 defeat to Stevenage on Saturday and Tuesday night’s trip to Carlisle United.

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On having to sit out both matches, O’Donnell said: “It was one of the most bizarre injuries I’ve ever had in my career. I had an injection, managed to train and then woke up Saturday and it just wasn’t right.

“I pulled out in the warm up, which was disappointing as it was a big game against Plymouth and those are the games you want to play in.

“Same with Oxford, even more so, but that’s football.

“JJ came in and did well, he’s good enough, so fortunately I got my chance against Yeovil done all right.

“Only the gaffer knows if I’ve done enough to keep playing, I’m just working hard, trying my best and that’s all I’ve done. It might not be good enough, but that’s all I’ve done and I’ll continue to do it.

“I want to play every game, I’ve said that before.

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“There were couple of big games I hadn’t done particularly well in and nobody knows that more than myself, but it still doesn’t make you not want to play, so it was good to be back in the team.”

Although Town were beaten by local rivals Stevenage at the weekend, a result that saw them lose ground in the race to go up automatically this term, while drawing 0-0 at Carlisle in midweek, O’Donnell still retains belief they can do it.

He is well aware though, that Town need to finally start putting together a winning run, and quickly, adding: “A lot of teams struggle to put runs together, Stevenage managed to put a really good one together and shoots them right up the table.

“I think we’re one of the most consistent teams in the league in terms of picking up an amount of points every month. We’re a good side 
and have just lacked that killer instinct in both boxes and at times, its cost us.

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“Getting that run together would be crucial at this stage, but I wouldn’t panic too much.

“As long as we’re winning two three games in a row, that would be great, we just need to make sure we’re doing better than the other teams around us.”

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