Town boss Jones left gutted as Luton fans are absent from Chelsea cup clash after also missing United and Watford matches

Hatters boss Nathan Jones will lead his side out at Chelsea in the FA Cup this afternoon with a clear tinge of disappointment due to the empty stands facing his players at Stamford Bridge.

Under normal circumstances, the visitors would have been taking to the field in front of over 40,000 fans, with a fair few thousand from Bedfordshire screaming themselves hoarse throughout the 90 minutes.

However, these days like is anything but normal, as a national lockdown enforced due to the coronavirus pandemic, means that as has been the case for the majority of the season, supporters aren't allowed to attend.

Jones is gutted that this year of all years will see Town followers miss out on some of the biggest encounters in their recent history, saying: "It’s a great game for our club and the biggest disappointment as we always say is there won’t be any fans there.

"This year we’ve probably had the four biggest games you can have as a Luton fan, playing Watford twice, Man United at home and Chelsea away, and it’s really, really sad that we haven’t been able to have fans in for these games.

“Our fans have waited a long time for games like this. Back in the days of (Mick) Harford and (David) Preece and the Stein brothers (Brian and Mark), these were regular occurrences.

"They’re not here at the minute as we’re not there, but the club’s worked its way back to being one level off of the Premier League, so it’s really disappointing for the fans as it would have been some great games for them, it’s what you live for as football fans.”

Without supporters present, Luton have enjoyed some superb results on the road, including beating Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium last weekend.

Midfielder Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu didn't think it would lead to too much of an advantage at Stamford Bridge though, saying: “Yes and no, it would be a lot of Chelsea fans, but we know Luton fans very well, they travel in their numbers as well.

"It is a level playing field, but if Chelsea had fans as well and we had fans, it would be a great atmosphere and I think an atmosphere creates a good game.

"Right now we can’t do that, so it’s a shame, but hopefully if the pandemic is over soon, the fans can come in and it will be a great pleasure for everyone.”

Meanwhile, attacker Harry Cornick added: “A lot of fans have watched the games when Chelsea and Luton used to play years ago, and have got fond memories from those games.

"So to get back to the stage we’re at now and to go to Stamford Bridge, it is a shame that the fans don’t get to go as it would be a great game for them to bring back some memories from when they used to go there and play league games against them.

"It’s been a long journey for Luton Town and it’s not finished yet, there’s still a lot of this story to be told.

"Hopefully we can keep going as a club and keep pushing on.”