Shea wants Hatters to go up as champions

Hatters keeper James Shea has set his sights firmly on going up as League Two champions this season, writes Mike Simmonds.
Hatters keeper James SheaHatters keeper James Shea
Hatters keeper James Shea

The former Arsenal stopper has tasted promotion before, when at AFC Wimbledon they beat Plymouth 2-0 in the play-off final in 2016.

Shea was an unused substitute that day, but with seven games to go, Luton find themselves in pole position once more after beating Barnet 2-0 on Saturday to move ahead of Accrington on goal difference.

Stanley do still have two games in hand, but Shea, who made his Town league debut in the victory over the Bees, pointed to the fact they have to play six of the top nine teams.

He said: “We want to win the league, we want to go up, we’ve put the onus on Accrington, now they’ve got to win their games.

“They’ve got a tough run coming up, but all we can do is concentrate on ourselves and we’ve got to win the next game against Colchester next week.

“There’s two big games coming up, every game’s a big game and next week is going to be another massive game.”

On Town’s 2-0 victory over Barnet at the weekend, Shea knew just how important it was, with the Sky TV cameras in attendance and Bees under new management in Martin Allen.

He continued: “We weren’t too sure what type of team Barnet were going to play, or how they would play, but I thought we were absolutely brilliant.

“We dealt with all their threats, we kept them down and got a 2-0 win which we deserved as well.

“I thought we controlled the first half, they had a few little shots, the keeper’s made some good saves, but I always felt we were in control. The only time they had a chance was when we made mistakes at the back.”

Town’s goals came just at the right time too, with Danny Hylton scoring just after half time and James Collins netting midway through the second half.

Shea said: “It (first goal) was massive for us, it just settled everyone down and thankfully we got the second when we did.

“I felt we were in control the whole game to be fair and you need the goals though.

“At 1-0 you never know what can happen, all it takes is one chance.

“It’s important to get that second goal as it just calmed everyone down a bit and then we just saw it through to the end.”