Cornick: There’s no reason we can’t improve on last season with a better squad in place

Town attacker Harry Cornick is convinced Luton can improve on their position of 12th in the Championship last season with what he believes is a better squad in place at Kenilworth Road this term.

After losing first teamers James Collins, Matty Pearson and George Moncur over the summer, while Kazenga LuaLua and Martin Cranie both moved on as well, boss Nathan Jones made eight signings to bolster the options available to him.

He spent money on Carlos Mendes Gomes, Allan Campbell, Fred Onyedinma, plus Admiral Muskwe and also added Cameron Jerome, Henri Lansbury, Amari’i Bell and Reece Burke to the Town ranks as well.

Cornick, who is one of the longest serving members of the squad, having been with the club since the League Two days, said: “I think the squad we have now is better than the one we had last year, so there’s no reason why we can’t keep pushing forward and improving, which will be our aim for this year.”

Although the squad has a new-look feel to it, the former Bournemouth winger is confident they will be able to gel in time to make a good start thanks to their efforts at the Brache.

He continued: “We’ve had a lot of work on training ground, I’ve been getting to know Fred quite well on the left, I know what he’s like, I know what Carlos is like, so it’s good to get to know players in training.

“It starts really at the weekend when we get to know each other, how we’re going to play and how the gaffer wants us to play, what formation, what style we’re going to play.

“You get to know players in training a little bit, but in games, you get to know them a lot more.

“So hopefully over the next few weeks, we’ll get to know each other better.”

Boss Jones also expects the new signings to integrate quickly, adding: “It’s about getting those players to fit into our structure.

“We’ve had well-oiled machines here. To replace James Collins is very difficult because he’s known exactly what we’ve done.

“For four years, it’s been nailed into him and he’s been excellent, coming in, he hit the ground running in his first game and never looked back.

“Matty Pearson was exactly the same.

“It took two or three games to get used to the difference in what we were doing to his previous club, but then he never looked back.

“It’s replacing that continuity that we’ve had to do.

“Both of them have gone to good clubs and we’re delighted for them, we really are, but we’ve got to move past that, so we’ve recruited for what we needed to.

“We’ve recruited specialists to try to evolve and take the club forward.

“That might take a little bit of time, but we believe we’re in a good place.

“We’re cautiously excited.

“Football has a way of biting you, so we’re not going to open ourselves out to euphoria and really be bitten.

“Everything’s a work in progress, we’re going to work hard, get everyone to gel and to fit into the structure that we have, demand from them, make them fitter, make them better and give them the tools to be the best they can be.

“Hopefully they can do that and fly for Luton.”