McManaman: Pressure is all on Derby when Town head to Pride Park

Town attacker Callum McManaman insists it the Hatters can get a positive result at Derby County this afternoon, with the pressure all on the hosts.
Callum McManaman celebrates his goal against Millwall in midweekCallum McManaman celebrates his goal against Millwall in midweek
Callum McManaman celebrates his goal against Millwall in midweek

Both sides go into the contest on the back of taking four points from their last two games, and are one place apart in the league standings, Derby 16th, Luton 17th.

That final position would represent a successful season for the Hatters, but not so the Rams, who are expected to challenge for promotion once more after reaching the play-offs three times out of the four campaigns.

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McManaman said: “It’s a tough game, but I think all the pressure is on Derby to be honest.

"We've done ourselves no harm, so we can go there and get after them like we did at Blackburn.

“I love the way we play, we play attacking football, we try to get after teams and press from the front.

"There’s still improvements, when we keep a few clean sheets and put a few more wins together, I think a few will be surprised by us.”

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Luton were thankful to McManaman for ensuring they went into the game unbeaten in two matches, as he scored a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Millwall on Wednesday night.

The former Wigan and West Brom winger felt his side deserved more from the 90 minutes though, saying: “The lads are disappointed.

"Maybe we did enough to win the game, they were one up, but I feel like first half we were the better side, created a few chances, but in the end, we’ll take a point.

“It was their first shot on target, so the lads are disappointed to concede a goal.

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“It’s a tough one, but we could have easily got beaten, 1-0 down, they’re a good side defensively.

“The keeper’s made a great save (from James Collins), tipped it on to the bar, on another day that goes in and we put two or three past them, but that’s football.”

However, they did eventually take a point from the game thanks to McManaman, who knows that any kind of result in the Championship is vital.

He said: “We kept creating chances and kept going.

"As the gaffer said, the attitude from the whole squad, not just the ones who started, the three lads who’ve come on, have all changed the game and made an impact.

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"That’s what we’re going to need in the Championship, it's a tough league where every point is crucial.

“It was massive to get the equaliser at the end, but on another day we could have been two or three goals up, so the lads are still a bit disappointed.”

Meanwhile, McManaman, who was on from 65 minutes, his second appearance from the bench in two league matches, is hoping he gets the chance at Pride Park today to showcase his undoubted ability on the ball once more.

He added: “I love getting one v one and getting at defenders.

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“I feel like I can beat anyone one v one, but maybe the last few years, I’ve not had enough run of games, or I get doubled up on a lot.

"A lot of managers put two on me, so I have to come back as it’s hard to beat two than one.

“But I feel like this season I'm getting a lot more game time and getting one v one a lot more.”