Jerome insists Luton deserve to be treated with 'respect' as experienced striker targets promotion to the Premier League

Luton attacker Cameron Jerome believes that the Hatters deserve to be treated with the ‘respect’ they deserve for their efforts on the pitch over the last 18 months.

The season just gone saw Town exceed the expectations of everyone bar those in the dressing room at Kenilworth Road by reaching the Championship play-offs, where with the squad depleted massively due to injuries, they were beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Huddersfield Town.

This term it looks like Nathan Jones’ side are well versed to challenge for the top six, as after a summer transfer window in which they broke their club record to bring in Carlton Morris from Barnsley, they are now sitting in fifth place and seven games unbeaten, following victories over QPR and Norwich City this week.

Jerome, who was awarded his first goal of the campaign by the Dubious Goals Committee in the 3-1 triumph over the R’s on Saturday, said: “I think we’re earning the respect of people on the outside.

“We know what we’ve got in this building ourselves and we believe in ourselves as a squad and a club, as we think we can compete with the teams at the higher end of the division.

“We invested heavily in the summer for this football club in terms of what we brought in, thankfully the board backed the manager, identified the players that we thought could help move on and strengthen the group .

"We’re doing that at our own pace, we haven't quite got the financial reach of some other cubs, but we work with what we’ve got and hopefully people are standing up and taking notice because we are a good side and we do deserve that little bit of respect.

"Whether people give it to us or not, it doesn't really matter to us.

"We believe in what we’ve got and our target and our target is try and achieve promotion.”

A huge part of the reason behind the Hatters’ climb up the Championship table in the last few years has been the return of Jones, following previous manager Graeme Jones’ decision to leave the club at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

After leading Town to the Great Escape and keep their spot in the division when he came back, the following season saw Luton finish in 12th, improving that to sixth last term.

Ahead of Sunday’s trip to old foes Watford, the Hatters have gone a place even higher in fifth, as Jerome was eager to praise the work done by the Welshman, continuing: “The manager is very passionate you can see that.

"He’s animated on the sidelines, he’s got that spirit and that will about him, he kicks every ball every day in training.

"If things aren’t quite right he’ll let you know, but he can have a laugh and a joke with the guys at the same time as well.

"When it’s time to work, Nathan is serious, but there is another side to him, he’ll be the first one to have a laugh with people at the right times, but he lives and breathes football.

"This is what we all love about him, his character and his biggest strength is his passion.”

With Luton now on a seven game unbeaten run, their best at this level since the 1995-96 campaign, and having claimed 24 points from their first 15 encounters, Jerome felt they were slightly unfortunate not to have an even higher tally to their name, as he continued: “We probably thought we could have had a few more victories, especially the Huddersfield game, we thought that was one that got away from us.

"Then a solid point at West Brom and a fantastic performance today (against QPR), so we’re going along in the right direction at the minute.

"It’s just about churning out victories as games are coming thick and fast.”

Luton are starting to hit their straps though as taking on a Rangers side who could have gone top last weekend, they produced one of their best displays on home soil, to register what was only their second victory of the season at Kenilworth Road.

Jerome felt it showed that the side have got just the right mix needed to be a force in the Championship, adding: “That’s what this league is about, you have to be consistent at this level.

"There’s some really good footballing sides, there’s some really good organised sides and I think we fall a little bit between both.

"We’ve got that little bit of quality and we’ve started to evolve a bit in terms of being able to play football and being able to mix it and do what we’re strongest at really.

"That’s being aggressive, athletic, on the front foot, defending the box well and I thought we showed all our qualities in the game.

“We try and pride ourselves on our home form and although we’ve not been beaten much at home, we’ve had a couple of frustrating results that have turned into draws and we’ve not managed to win the game.

"But it’s a great sign of character.

"It was a good test, QPR are a good footballing side, they’re up there in the top couple of teams at the minute and they’re on form as well, so it’s much deserved victory.

"I thought we were magnificent, especially first half, if we’d have got the second goal a bit earlier, it would have been a bit more comfortable for us.”