Harford believes QPR's ex-Hatter Andre Gray is sure to get 'good welcome' from Luton fans as he isn't playing for Watford

Luton assistant boss Mick Harford believes former Town striker Andre Gray is sure to get a 'good welcome' at Kenilworth Road tomorrow when he heads back to his old side for the first time with fans present, due to the fact he isn't playing for Watford,

The 30-year-old had a starring role for the Hatters as they won promotion out of the Conference back in the 2013-14 season, scoring 30 times as Luton romped to the title.

He then left in the summer, heading to Brentford in a deal worth around £500,000 with the Hatters also benefiting from his £9m move to Burnley a year later, due to sell-on clauses inserted by the club's forward-thinking board.

After two prolific seasons at Turf Moor, Gray joined Watford for a fee of £11.5m in August 2017, coming back to Luton for the first time last year when no fans were present, scoring what he thought was a last gasp equaliser for the Hornets only to see it ruled out as Town triumphed 1-0.

Loaned to QPR in the summer, Gray has netted six goals in 22 appearances this season, and is expected to be included in the squad tomorrow, as Harford said: "I’m sure he’ll get a good welcome.

"If he was playing for Watford he wouldn’t, but playing for QPR it’s a bit different.

"He played a big part in helping Luton get back in the Football League, so our thanks to him.

"I’m sure the crowd will get behind him for a short period of time, so it’ll be good to see him.”

After two away games in the week, Luton heading to Middlesbrough and losing 2-1 at the weekend, bouncing back with a 1-0 success at Coventry on Tuesday night, Harford can't wait to get back home in front of Town’s supporters and a stadium where they are unbeaten in seven Championship games, with five wins and two draws.

He added: "I don’t think you can single any one game out in terms of the crowd at Luton Town Football Club, they’ve been immense throughout the season, especially at Kenilworth Road, they're amazing.

"They get behind the team and they are like the 12th man.

"Going away from home they’ve been absolutely magnificent and 1,700 at Coventry the other night is just awesome and amazing.

"It definitely helped us get over the line.

"We love playing at Kenilworth Road, for obvious reasons.

"It’s a really tough place to come for opposition teams.

"We make it really, really tough and obviously the big thing for us is the fans who get behind us.

"They’re amazing. They’re immense."