Cohen knows Luton will be determined to get one over on Huddersfield after cruel play-off defeat

Luton will be doubly determined to put one over Huddersfield Town when they face their opponents at Kenilworth Road this evening after last season’s cruel play-off defeat, according to assistant boss Chris Cohen.

Having finished sixth in the Championship, Town went up against the Terriers for a place at Wembley and after a 1-1 draw on home soil, the Hatters then dominated proceedings at the John Smith’s Stadium, missing a host of chances, before Jordan Rhodes’ late strike sealed a 1-0 victory.

When asked if there was an element of revenge going into the contest, Cohen said: “I think it is a natural emotion, not owe them one but I think it’s the fact it is a huge game for us and the supporters.

“The other part is we felt over the course of the two games we were fair game to go through to the final and have a shot of getting to Wembley.

“It didn’t happen, Huddersfield won the second leg and deserved their opportunity.

“I think it is a natural emotion to try and beat them after the disappointment of last year.

“Again, we’re really confident with how we’re playing at the moment.

"We have players in form, players from last year, new players that have come in and we back ourselves at the Kenny against anyone.

"We just can’t wait for the game and it can’t happen quick enough.”

In the aftermath of Rhodes’ late winner, the full time whistle led to some ugly scenes branded an ‘absolute disgrace’ by boss Nathan Jones as Town’s players and staff were accosted as they left the field.

The home fans also threw objects into the away end leading to some travelling Luton supporters suffering injuries, for which the Terriers were charged by the FA, resulting in £70,000 fine last week.

Cohen continued: “It probably went a little bit over the top but it hasn’t been the only team where their celebrations maybe went a little bit too far.

"To be fair to them they just got to Wembley with an opportunity to get into the Premier League.

“Had the game been reversed and we had been at the Kenny, would we have behaved in the same?

“Who is to say we wouldn’t have because it was just excitement for them and we were demoralised by the defeat and it added a little bit of insult to injury.

“I don’t think it has been mentioned in the staff room or the players since we lost the game.

"We move on to this season and we look to have the same impact on the league that we did last year.”

Following their narrow defeat to Nottingham Forest at Wembley, Huddersfield were rocked just before the start of the season with head coach Carlos Corban opting to leave the club.

He was replaced by Danny Schofield, who was then sacked after just nine games, with the Terriers languishing in 23rd place.

Former Hertha Berlin, FC Ingolstadt 04 and Karlsruher SC coach Mark Fotheringham was named as his replacement last week, beaten 3-1 by Reading in his first match in charge on Saturday.

It means that as against Hull on Friday night, who sacked manager Shota Arveladze just hours before Town’s 2-0 victory, Luton’s preparations have been somewhat disrupted.

Cohen sad: “A little bit like the other night in terms of a new manager comes in, it throws all that form out the window because I know it didn’t happen on Friday, but how many times do we see a new manager bounce, when someone who comes in with fresh ideas.

“He’s obviously highly regarded as a coach and someone that has had an added few days now added to last week to set his team up.

“It has been difficult to prep for them in terms of formations and players, but we believe in our style and we believe we can implement it on anyone.

"If we make the game about us and play the way we can, we believe we’re a match and can beat anyone, especially at home.”

With Fotheringham’s background mainly in Germany, then it means he is fairly unknown to the Hatters backroom staff, apart from first team coach Alan Sheehan, as Cohen added: “Sheez knows him a little bit from Notts County and they’re friends so he knows a little bit more than me.

“You saw the quotes and the people that were speaking about him, Sami Khedira (former Real Madrid and Juventus), old German managers (Jurgen Klinsmann), really highly regarded people speaking so well of him.

"He’s got the opportunity and it’s fully deserved and after this game, good luck to him.”