Mindset is key for Mengi as Luton defender stays confident ahead of massive Everton clash

Centre half prepares for must-win Toffees clash

Teden Mengi, a defender for Luton, is adamant that his team will approach their matchup with Everton on Friday night believing they will win the Premier League this year.

After losing to Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 on Saturday, the Hatters’ task became much more difficult. This was their 10th loss in their previous 13 top division games. Town lost the opportunity to move up out of the bottom three once more, although they are still only one point above safety thanks to Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday.

Second-bottom Burnley, who defeated Brentford 1-0 the previous weekend, is also very much in the running, trailing Luton by only one point. Luton will have the advantage in the fight to stay in the top flight on Friday when they face the Toffees. Although Luton has lost their past three games and given up 12 goals, Mengi doesn’t believe the players will be in a bad mood before facing Sean Dyche’s team. Luton has been playing poorly at the unexpected moment.

We prepare with the intention of staying in the league, he stated. We enter with complete assurance since, in all honesty, we have nothing to lose. I have complete faith in the team to persevere through whatever it takes to stay in the league. We’re not in a terrible place as a result of the Wolves loss, but we approach those games full of confidence.

We have that edge because we have a wonderful game to look forward to, especially at home with our fans. We will strive to forget about our recent run and approach the game with complete confidence that we can defeat them and maintain our position in the league.

Despite losing to Gary O’Neil’s top-10 contenders on Saturday, Mengi, who has had an incredibly successful first season with Luton and recently earned his first England U21 cap, did see some silver lining in the match. This was especially true after they had lost 5-1 in their previous two games—one at Manchester City and the other at home to Brentford.

“I think there are advantages to take,” he said. There were undoubtedly positives to take away from the game last week: we showed a response, we persisted, we scored the game’s final goal, which is a plus, and we played all the way through. Even if we lost the game, there is still hope because we still have two home games and three crucial games left.

“The game is over now, though, and our attention is now on the ones that lie ahead. We have to focus on the upcoming games instead of dwelling on anything else since we don’t have time to do so. Coming up are two crucial home games and a trip to West Ham.

Mengi is one of several players—especially in defense—who have had to play through pain in recent weeks due to a knee injury, but he is adamant about continuing to risk his life for the cause, declaring, “I’m feeling terrific, I’m feeling great.” I’m prepared to conduct business as usual since I’m willing to participate and support the team. Everybody wants to contribute to the team whenever they can. Everyone wants to stay in this league, so we’ll do everything it takes to get on the field and battle for it. We’ll go above and beyond to achieve that.

The 3,000 traveling fans who had made the trip gave Town, like they did all season, a fantastic ovation following the team’s loss at Wolves. Mengi has asked the supporters to be at Kenilworth Road under the lights when Everton is the visiting team. “I think it’s incredibly essential that we can give something back to the supporters; they have been fantastic both home and away,” he continued.

“It seems like the supporters behind us are in a different kind of war than we are. We can continue with the support of our fans, therefore I sincerely ask them to continue cheering us on, stick by us through the entire season, and help us cross the finish line. This club has chemistry among all of its members, thus it’s critical that we maintain it. Everyone on our team clearly has a connection to one another; we simply need to get things going.