Luton winger Andros Townsend has urged his side to do all they can to pick up some ‘unexpected’ points in their next batch of away games to ‘hurt’ the teams around them in the fight to stay in the Premier League this season.
The Hatters won’t find it easy at all, as they return from the international break at top four chasers Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Ange Postecoglou’s side having won 10 out of 14 matches on home soil this term. Town then head to leaders Arsenal on Wednesday evening, the Gunners scoring a remarkable 70 goals already, while hosting AFC Bournemouth the following weekend.
After that, it’s a trip to champions Manchester City, who haven’t lost in front of their own fans so far, before a run-in that appears easier on paper at least, Town hosting Brentford, Everton and Fulham, also going to Wolves and West Ham as well. Rather than focus on the final five games though, speaking to the BBC’s Monday Night Club, Townsend said: “I’ve been in relegation battles pretty much my whole senior career and it’s the ones where you pick up points that are unexpected.
“Say we go on Saturday and get a point against Spurs or beat Spurs, your rivals, it hurts them more as they’re expecting us to lose. To see us get a point, or three points, really hurts them. So for me, you can’t just give up on those games and focus on the more important ones, as it has a psychological effect when you take points off the top teams.”
Luton can thankfully head to north London with their spirits intact following Luke Berry’s late equaliser earning them a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest ahead of the fortnight off. Picking up a point having let a 3-0 lead slip at AFC Bournemouth to lose 4-3 a few days earlier was absolutely critical for Townsend, who continued: “Imagine going into the international break off the back of conceding a three-nil lead and then losing one-nil in a six pointer, the morale would have been in the ground.
“So for Luke Berry to pop up and get us a point and keep us, we thought within three points of Forest, and then on Monday to go outside of the relegation zone, I feel like it’s really rejuvenated us. It’s really given us an even stronger feeling that, despite what some had said at the beginning of the season, we can succeed.
Town defender Tom Lockyer, who regrettably isn’t able to play for the Hatters due to his ongoing recovery from a cardiac arrest he had against AFC Bournemouth in December, has pointed out that home games are crucial to Luton’s hopes of staying in the Premier League, saying, “They’re the ones.” The Emirates and Etihad must also be considered; in the end, they will not be the ones who determine our fate. It will be those at home against the teams in the league surrounding us.
