Chelsea clash at Kenilworth Road will add some 'extra juice' for Luton striker Morris

Luton striker Carlton Morris admitted that going up against a club the size of Chelsea is definitely one that will give him a bit of ‘extra juice’ ahead of the game at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

Following promotion to the top flight, the majority of the Hatters’ squad, Morris included, have been getting used to taking on some of the biggest teams in world football on a regular basis for the first time in their careers this term. Although the Blues haven’t had the kind of season they would have wanted, sitting 10th in the table after 19 games, with five defeats on the road already, they are still one of the most successful teams in recent times, with two Premier League triumphs in the last eight years, also winning the Champions League, Europa League and FIFA Club World Cup too.

For Morris, who grew up up idolising powerful striker Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast forward leading the line at Stamford Bridge for almost a decade in total, when asked about the prospect of facing Chelsea, he said: “As a young football fan, some part of you does think of back in the day, Didier Drogba and the likes of that, so it's a pretty cool feeling. If you can take some things out of his game you’ll be doing all right for sure.

"It’s similar motivation in every game, but the big six, the famous football clubs, some people might not like to admit it but it does give you a bit of extra juice at times, so we’ll be looking forward to that one."

With Luton having given their survival hopes a real shot in the arm recently, earning back-to-back wins for the first time this season, they know a third straight success over Mauricio Pochettino’s side will take them out of the relegation zone for a few hours at least, climbing above Everton and Nottingham Forest.

Having given everything in a bid to reach the top flight, remaining there is the one thing on Morris’s mind now too, as he continued: “I love it, I absolutely love it. I still pinch myself sometimes that I’m actually a Premier League footballer. It’s what I dreamed of my whole career, so I’m loving it, I’m not giving it up easily.

“I look around the dressing room, I know we’ve got more than enough quality fight and determination to stay up, so that’s our goal ultimately but it’s one game at a time and our focus is on Chelsea now."

It was the same for team-mate Alfie Doughty, who scored the opener at Bramall Lane on Boxing Day, as on his first taste of life in the top tier, he said: “I love it. I think we’re starting to show our character. Me personally, I’m enjoying it, it’s been fun, but now we’re getting the results and if we’re getting the results I think we’ll be absolutely fine.

“It’s really put us into a good bit of momentum, even the two games before this, (Manchester) City and Arsenal, we played really well at home and we’ve just got to take that into game again. We beat Newcastle and won here (Sheffield United). It’s not an easy place to come to, but to show the character we did, we can easily take that into the Kenny and hopefully another three points.”

Although a number of people are still tipping the Hatters to go down along with Sheffield United and Burnley this term, on whether Luton can use that to their advantage going into matches, Morris added: “For the majority, myself, I don't read or listen to too much. I try to keep my head out of that sort of stuff, but the lads can use whatever motivation they need to put on the fight and the performances that we do.

“We've had some good performances at home against the likes of Arsenal, City, Liverpool. We know we can perform well and we know we can take points from these games so that’s what we’ll be aiming to do.”