Naismith was happy with Town’s efforts against Europa League winners
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New Town skipper Kal Naismith felt Luton's Premier League opponents Tottenham Hotspur ‘never enjoyed’ their pre-season trip to Kenilworth Road yesterday.
With the visitors having only recently returned to training following a gruelling top flight campaign that saw then crowned Europa League winners when beating Manchester United 1-0 in the final, and Luton coming to the end of their pre-season schedule, now preparing for a League One opener against AFC Wimbledon on Friday night, there was little to choose between the teams during the 90 minutes that ultimately ended up goalless.
Spurs new-boy Mohammed Kudus had the best opportunity for Thomas Frank’s side that also contained Brennan Johnson along with summer additions Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel, seeing his attempt cleared away by the covering Christ Makosso, before the visitors were indebted to substitute keeper Antonin Kinsky who denied Nahki Wells and Milli Alli early in the second period, Wells also hammering another inviting chance over.
Speaking after the contest about how he felt the Hatters had got on when facing a side laced with full internationals, Naismith said: “The principles, the mindset the gaffer’s been trying to instil about being together and hard to beat, all the principles you need to be a good side, it felt like we were so together out there. Everybody knew their jobs and their roles against an unbelievable side, so, so many positives to take from it.
“Of course they’re at a different stage of their pre-season, we’ve been doing it a bit longer so fitness levels etcetera, but they’re an incredibly strong side, They’ve won a big, major European trophy, have some of the best players in their Premier League in their starting eleven, so if you asked them, they would say they never enjoyed the game, I don’t think so anyway. It never never looked like they enjoyed it and it certainly looked like we enjoyed it, on the front foot, pressing, getting after them, it was a good game.”
In the eyes of new signing Wells, who was having his first outing at Kenilworth Road since arriving on a free transfer from Bristol City in the summer, reuniting with Naismith whom he shared a dressing room with at Ashton Gate, he felt Town could take plenty of confidence from the fixture, doing enough in his eyes to gain a morale-boosting victory, as speaking to the club’s official website, he added: “It was obviously a tough game because they are very good opposition.
"I think it gives us real belief that we have played against a really good side and been able to deal with their threats. I know they are probably a bit premature in their pre-season and we are closer to the end, but we ran a really good side close and truthfully, probably should have won it. It gives us a different variation.
"We’ve played against sides where we’ve probably been in more control and now we’ve had that opportunity to be out of possession a bit more and have to be a bit more structured and resilient and backs against the wall at times. I think we dealt with, soaked up a lot of that pressure and then we used it to try and go and hurt them. We had some good moments out there and apart from winning the game, it’s a good way to end pre-season going into next Friday.”