'Horrible' Christmas made Shinnie more determined to win at United

With Luton in for training on the 25th and travelling up to Glanford Park that evening, it meant the 29-year-old couldn’t spend the festive period with his loved ones.

However, it paid off for the second year running as the Hatters emerged 2-0 winners, with Shinnie getting the first goal of the afternoon.

On how tough it is for the players, he said: “It’s horrible.

“I didn’t see my family, I was at Elliot Lee’s family yesterday, my missus had to go up the road as I would have left her on her own Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

“But the sacrifices, that’s football, a lot of the lads have to do it, it’s horrible to do it, but you just have to.

“That’s why I was so determined to win. You want to make it worthwhile doing it and getting the three points makes it worthwhile.”

Manager Nathan Jones also praised his squad for the manner in which they approached the hectic schedule and training at Kenilworth Road on Christmas Day, saying: “Collectively we’ve done that.

“We’ve had the stadium manager come in, had Dickie (Richard Bird) the groundsman come in.

"I had to leave my family, Steve (Rutter, assistant manager) had to drive from Yeovil, Joaquin (Gomez, first team coach) had to leave a young family, we all did, the players did too.

“But it’s for these moments. Last year we did it, and we got them in, had a fantastic result on Boxing Day against Swindon and today it was all about that.

“It’s worth everything, so I’m delighted we did it and they repaid that.

“It’s a crazy time and thanks to the league for giving us a lovely local fixture on Boxing Day and away at Scunthorpe, it’s bonkers and it’s relentless, it really, really is.

"But it’s one of those things and as long as we come out of it in the right manner, we’ve got a squad that’s going to be tested, so lets go."

Victory was the Hatters' seventh League One triumph in a row, the first time since the 2001-02 season they have managed such a feat in the Football League.

Jones added: "Any consecutive amount of wins is excellent, but we want to continue to do that.

"In the seven there’s been seven different results, the Bradford and the Plymouth games have been really fluent ones, some we’ve had to dig in, some we’ve controlled and looked comfortable without having to get out of second, third or fourth gear.

"So we’re in good form, but I’m delighted with the points haul."