Huge praise for Hatters' '˜caretaker'

Glen Rea has been labelled Town's 'caretaker'

After struggling to nail a place down in the opening few weeks of the campaign, Rea has gone on to make 30 league starts this term, with only Dan Potts, Alan Sheehan, Jack Stacey and Marek Stech ahead of him.

The former Brighton player looked to have made the holding midfielder role his own with a string of fine displays after McCormack was injured, until Flynn Downes joined the club from Ipswich on deadline day.

Since his arrival, Rea has dropped back into the centre of defence alongside Sheehan, with Town conceding just four goals in those five matches.

McCormack said: “The versatility of Glen, being a young lad to be able to play in two major positions on the pitch, especially in this team, is credit to his ability to learn and his desire to come out and play games.

“We call him the caretaker as he just cleans everything up.

“So I don’t think looking now it’s not a big loss that I missed some games, because you’ve got just as good quality and that’s what the gaffer wanted.

“He wanted if one player’s missing, he’s got just as good quality to step in and Glen, not only has he come in and filled the space, he’s come in and stepped on and had some excellent performances, so long may that continue.”

With McCormack a veteran of over 450 first team games, he has been able to offer some hints and tips to the likes of Rea and Downes during his absence.

He added: “You kind of do it without going out and doing it if you know what I mean.

“You’re not purposely coming in and going, ‘right I’m going to help Glen with this or going to help Flynn with this’.

“In training, if you’re doing shape or you’re doing something, you kind of drop a little bit of advice in, but they say it to me as well, and they say it to other players.

“So that’s how the squad has got to this point as there’s no bitterness.

“The first 11 that’s playing, to the lads who are missing out, there’s no bitterness, everybody’s in it together.

“That’s the only way you win titles and get promoted, is if you have a 22, 25, probably a 30-man squad that we’ve got all pulling together.”