Hatters defender Lockyer urges Luton not to 'stumble' into the play-offs

With two games of the season to go, Luton defender Tom Lockyer has urged his side don’t just ‘stumble’ into the play-offs despite having little or nothing riding on their upcoming matches against Blackburn Rovers and Hull City.

The Hatters’ superb season has seen Town secure a finish of either third or fourth place in the Championship, a remarkable achievement in itself, and ensure they will be at home in the first leg of their upcoming semi-final clash.

They could be assured of third by tomorrow afternoon, should Middlesbrough lose at Rotherham United, the hosts needing a point to realistically confirm their second tier status for another season.

Luton themselves head to a team who are desperate for the points for another reason, Jon Dahl Tomasson’s team’s hopes of the top six all but over if they don't get a result from the contest.

It is a different situation for the Hatters players to be in, as with a 12 game unbeaten record under their belt, Lockyer said: “I’ve personally not been in this position before.

"When we’ve been up there and had promotions before in the past, it’s always gone down to the last day, with a chance of maybe going automatics or then ending up in the play-offs.

"Two games now without, you say nothing to play for, but you don’t want to stumble into the play-offs.

"You want to go in with a bit of momentum and keep it going.”

The Welsh international was on the scoresheet when Luton were in action last Monday evening, bagging a third of the season in a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough.

The hosts had struggled to get going during the opening 45 minutes though, trailing to Cameron Archer’s opener, before their second half comeback, Carlton Morris bagging a 66th minute penalty to win it.

With that in mind, Lockyer wants to make sure they put in a better showing at Ewood Park, as he continued: “I think that was what happened on Monday night.

"We weren’t at our best by any stretch of the imagination, but we found a way to win the game, which is probably a really good trait to have as a football team, when you’re not playing well and you’re still picking up results, that’s a really good thing.

“It’s not a switch you can’t just turn it on and off, which is really frustrating in the first half.

"We wanted to get after them and I think you have to hold your hands up at points, as fair play to Boro, they handled the ball in tight situations and moved it really well.

"You’re not always going to be able to get a really good press on all the time in the game, so you might have to hold your hands up and say well done, but it was frustrating in the game.

"I just felt like we were not even a yard off it, two, three off it in the press, so that was annoying.

"Then we tweaked it a little bit at half time and then we get the second goal and we just end up sitting in again, so that was annoying again.

"But like I said earlier, it’s brilliant to be able to find a way to win even when you’re not playing well.”