Palmer looking to start upfront for the Hatters

The 6ft 5ins forward, who moved to Kenilworth Road on loan until the end of the season from Leyton Orient, came off the bench at Grimsby after an hour last weekend as Town went in search of an equaliser.

Manager Nathan Jones has spoken about Palmer not just being a plan B option for Luton though, thrown on to unsettle an opposing defence when Lutonneed a goal, and the forward hopes to be given an opportunity to show what he can do.

He said: “Isaac (Vassell) is scoring, Danny Hylton has been fantastic all season, Jack Marriott has got nine goals, so all the lads bring something different.

“Whatever the gaffer wants me to do, whether it’s start or come off the bench, I’m happy.

“Obviously all players want to start games and that’s ultimately what I want and I want to be scoring goals.

“First and foremost, I just want to be part of a good squad and try to help the side go up.”

Palmer formed a front three alongside Hylton and Vassell at Blundell Park, allowing Hatters to take a more direct approach in the closing stages.

Hylton believes the new boy has more to his game than being a mere target man though, saying: “He’s come in, he’s looked really good but he’s not just a big man that you can lump the ball to so he can win headers, he’s so much more than that.

“He’s mobile, he’s quick, he’s strong, he can bring the ball down on his chest, hold the ball up and bring other players into games.

“Sometimes, when teams sit back against us, we haven’t really got that presence in the box. We try to do our best but with Ollie now, if teams want to sit back, then we have got that option.

“That’s not just to say that he’s a plan B. He’s very, very capable of coming in. There’s competition for places and he can come in from the start. It just gives us another dynamic.

“He’s mobile so it doesn’t mean if he starts that we’re going to go long. He can do everything else as well.

Palmer himself wasn’t surprised to see teams lining up defensively against the Hatters either, admitting it’s a ploy he has first hand experience of.

He continued: “Clubs are going to come up against teams like Luton Town and they’re just going to sit behind the ball. That’s what Cheltenham did.

“I’ve not watched Luton for the rest of the season, so I can’t comment, but I know for a fact that’s what Leyton Orient did.

“We tried to stop them from playing and you have a very defensive set-up.

“Now, Luton have earned that respect from other clubs and we’ve just got to find different ways to break them down. As the gaffer said, he’s got four different strikers, he’s got pace down the wings, but that’s what it’s going to be sometimes.

“When you do play the top sides and they want to come at you, obviously Luton are going to get more chances.

“No disrespect to any other teams in the league but they’re probably going to set up slightly defensive and we’ve just got to be a little more patient.”