Luton winger ready for ‘brutal’ Championship

The winger knows full well what to expect in the second tier of English football, having played there for both Blackpool and Wigan amongst others in his career already.

He is one of only a handful of Town players who have actually experienced the level, and when asked what it’s like, McManaman said: “It’s brutal. I’ve said it before, everyone who’s played there for a few years knows how tough it is.

"It doesn’t matter how good you are, you’ve got to be very, very fit, as it’s non-stop, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday.

“I haven’t played in League One before, but everyone I’ve spoken to, they say the difference between League One and the Championship is probably the biggest, it’s massive.

"So it’s hard to stay up when you come up from League One, but we’ll give it our best shot.”

Having become accustomed to being one of the big fish in their division over the last few seasons, it will be something of a role reversal for Luton this time around, going up against sides like Leeds United, Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion to name just three.

McManaman added: “There’s Premier League clubs everywhere now in the Championship, it’s crazy.

“The money that people are throwing about for players, for wages in the Championship, it’s gone higher.

“For the likes of the smaller clubs it’s harder to stay up, but I think we’ll be all right.”