Woodrow admits finding it difficult to hit top form due to his limited game time at Luton

Town striker Cauley Woodrow has admitted it has been difficult to reach his best form for the Hatters this season after not featuring as much as he would have liked.

The 28-year-old has been restricted to just four starts in the Championship so far, his latest during the 2-0 win over Rotherham United on Saturday, that coming after a campaign for Barnsley in which, although suffering with injury, had made 25.

In fact the last four years Woodrow had been picked 132 from the first whistle for the Tykes, with a best of 41 in the 2020-21 campaign, which led to him becoming a real force at Oakwell, scoring 53 goals in that period to earn his move back to the Hatters.

This term though he has had to make do with a place on the bench for large periods, brought on a further 22 times in league matches, Saturday’s goal at Rotherham just his second in the league, although he did also find the net in the FA Cup win at Wigan Athletic.

Having become accustomed to being a regular for the majority of his career, Woodrow knows his displays have been affected when coming on for second half cameos, as he said: “For sure, I don’t know people that maybe watch and don’t understand but when you’re not in the team and you’re not playing, when you've not got rhythm, it is difficult.

"You can train as much as you want, but you can’t replicate a match day and getting minutes and feeling yourself.

"When I’ve come on whether it’s for one minute or 10 minutes, it’s about the team, you’ve just go to do your bit and crack on.

"At the weekend it was nice for me to get more minutes and the more minutes you do get, hopefully you grow into yourself, feel normal and you get stronger.

"Coming on at the end of games can be tough sometimes, but you’ve got just got to do it and enjoy doing it when called upon.”

It was back in September and under previous boss Nathan Jones that Woodrow looked like he was about to get a run in the side, starting the 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers, only to then suffer a calf injury in training which kept him out for a couple of months.

Jones then left the club, with Rob Edwards coming in, and he has opted for Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo as his preferred front two with the pair on 18 and nine league goals respectively

It means that Woodrow can’t really gave many complaints about seeing his opportunities hampered, as he continued: “I had an injury and when I came back from the injury, the lads were on form, playing well, so you’re not going to go banging on the manager’s door saying ‘I should be playing,’ because it’s about the team and the team performing.

"You’ve just got to bide your time and do what you can at the training ground every day, work hard and when you’re called upon to come on, you’ve got to do your bit.

"I’d like to think I’ve done that over the course of the season, whether it’s one minute, 10 minutes, 70 minutes, whatever you get, you need to just do your bit for the team.

“To get the start at the weekend after being out of the team for so long, it was good.”

Although not playing under Edwards as much he would like, the boss has always declared just how important a player Woodrow is for the Hatters, and the mutual respect was clearly there, the ex-Fulham striker saying: “I’ve loved working with him, all the staff since they’ve come in have been great and a massive factor of why we were where we are at the minute.

"I’ve just really enjoyed working with them since they’ve come into the club.”

Although his versatility can be an asset for the Hatters, Woodrow playing as a number 10 at times under Jones, and occasionally being utilised deeper by Edwards too, he has more often than not reverted to a central role under the new manager.

It’s where he feels the most comfortable, although won’t complain wherever he is called upon, adding: “I’m a striker, over the years, that’s where I’ve played, that’s where I’ve scored all my goals.

"So number nine, number 10 really, playing at the weekend, I played upfront with Carlton which I’ve done in the past with Barnsley.

"I’m not an out and out target man or anything like that, I like to pick up little areas in front of the defence, and at the weekend, it suited me the style of the game, I managed to play my game.

“I’ve played at the top of a diamond before as a number 10 with two strikers ahead of me, I’ve done that at Barnsley, so it’s not something I haven't done before, but I’m not a midfielder.

"I’ve never played in midfield, but when called upon in any position, you need to come on and do well.

"The gaffer here when I came on and scored the goal against Norwich, he put me on the left, because we were down to 10 men, so I’m not going to say I don’t want to come on in any position because you’ve got to do everything for the team.

"My natural position is a forward though, so striker, that’s where I've played my whole career.”