The fat lady has her throat warmed up and ready to belt out an anthem, but she is not singing about the Luton season just yet, although lose on Friday and she’ll be heard far and wide, but one man could change all that.
As Hatters fans, we all got our hopes built up when we picked up five excellent points from three tough matches after lockdown, but I believed the hard work would start after the Leeds draw and to date we’ve come up short.
I believed the tough yards began after the draw at Elland Road because we were running into pressurised games that we were favourites to win, which requires a tougher mentality and stronger approach than a defensive rearguard with little to lose.
It is fair to say that so far we’ve fluffed our lines, and I believe one reason for that is a lack of experience in a relegation fight. In the past few seasons we have ben steamrolling sides and enjoying periods at the top of tables, rather than the scrap and fight for every point that we are experiencing now.
If we are going to survive this season then it could be worth leaning on the knowledge and knowhow of this situation that Callum McManaman possesses, a man who has been criminally underused all season, but who has been in this situation before with Wigan and lived to tell the tale.
The 29-year-old has only played an hour of football since the restart, and 45 of those were at Leeds where attacking was very much a second priority on the night. That isn’t enough in my eyes.
McManaman has come up big in some important moments for us this season. His late equalisers against Millwall, Wigan and Preston could all yet be extremely significant, and given the chance he could be the one to lead our last chance at survival.
The remaining four matches are going to be full of tension and pressure, so it could be beneficial to call on the one man in the squad who is used to handling that and thriving in that environment.
