Gary Neville insists 'scruffy' Luton need to solve their 'big problem' of scoring goals

Former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes that ‘scruffy’ Luton need to solve their ‘big problem’ of being able to find the net in the Premier League.

The Hatters went up against West Ham United at Kenilworth Road last night and created some excellent opportunities throughout the 90 minutes, with an impressive 16 shots all game.

However, only one of them, Mads Andersen’s consolation stoppage time header, was on target as the Hammers put three of their nine attempts at Thomas Kaminski, scoring twice through Jarrod Bowen and Kurt Zouma.

Ross Barkley had two good chances in the first period, the second when he dragged wide on his left foot, while Elijah Adebayo also skied a decent opportunity, Carlton Morris’s looping header landing on the roof of the net.

After the break, the Hatters threatened less, although Morris saw a close range effort fly over via a deflection.

It has been a recurring theme for Luton though, with just four shots on targets in their other games at Brighton and Chelsea, making it five from 36.

During those three matches, Town’s opposition have managed 23 on goal from 55 strikes, something that Neville, who has been on Sky duty for Luton’s last two fixtures, was quick to highlight.

He said: “There's a big problem there when you have 36 shots and only five of them are on target.

“He (Rob Edwards) said he wants to brush up in both boxes, I completely agree with that.

"Having watched them now two weeks on the bounce, there's no doubt they’re scruffy in the final third and they snatch at chances.

“They look a little bit desperate, but it’s the hardest thing in the world to put the ball in the back of the net in football and the best players that are doing it on a regular basis are worth big money.

"Morris has done it in the Championship, he’s got to go and prove he can do it in this league where obviously the space is less and the defenders are better, it’s less forgiving than the Championship.

"What I would say is that it still comes down to are they good enough to finish in the final third?

"That moment where the final pass, the final delivery in the box, that final finish and at the moment they’re just falling short.

"We know why because their budget is a lot less than the rest of the division, but they’ve got to somehow sort that out.

Town boss Rob Edwards agreed with the summary, as he added: “It's the hardest thing in football to score a goal and I'm certainly not going to lecture anyone on how to do it, but we just need to try and stay calm in those moments, be ruthless and be clinical.

“That will come, I've got no doubt about it.”