Hatters sign Heslop on loan
Hatch and Newton miss out for Wrexham visit
Neither Liam Hatch or Adam Newton will have recovered from their hamstring injuries in time for tomorrow's home game against Wrexham.
Town boss Richard Money has virtually the same squad available for the encounter against the Red Dragons as he did for Tuesday night's stuttering 2-1 home win against Forest Green.
Skipper Kevin Nicholls, 31, is also out of contention after undergoing an operation on a knee injury which will sideline hime for up to eight months.
But the Hatters have moved swiftly to fill the void by signing combative Barnsley midfielder Simon Heslop on loan.
The 22-year-old has had loan spells at a whole host of Conference sides and will hopefully help to give the Hatters midfield some steel.
On the challenge of Wrexham, Money said: "We think this is a top-five game.
"We recognise it as a major fixture and a dangerous one.
"It's going to be very Oxford-esque. It's going to be tough match.
"I don't think anyone can believe that Wrexham aren't in the top five.
"Therein lies the problem everyone faces.
"Wrexham are a prime example that it is not easy to get out of this league even if you spend a lot of money trying to.
"That's why our supporters need to embrace this promotion campaign and drive us on because you have got to take every opportunity that comes your way.
"I'm not being disrespectful but when was the last time Luton were involved in a promotion campaign?
"Embrace it.
"There will be disappointments and wobbles along the way, but rest assured we have a group here that will do everything they can to get us the right results.
"Everyone needs to stick with us.
"Having 7,000 people through the door should be our 12th man and not our biggest hindrance.
"Obviously there is an onus and duty on the players to go and perform but we are all very excited about the last 11 games of the campaign."
Money, though, was largely tightlipped about Tuesday night's victory against Forest Green, saying: "An awful lot has been said about Tuesday night and I'm not going to say anything more other than I was very grateful that the players came up with right result for which they deserve a great deal of credit."
And while Money refused to target Oxford and Stevenage he knows that a run of results will put pressure on the top two.
He continued: "We're not thinking about the top two. We can't control that but we can put distance between ourselves and the teams below us.
"That's what we can control. And if we can put pressure on the teams above us as a result then so be it."
And Money was delighted to have secured the signing of Heslop, saying: "Simon's very experienced despite still being young. He's played here before when Kettering beat us 1-0 in December.
"He's a player we have considered bringing in for several weeks but held fire to give our other midfielders a chance.
"He's in the Keith Keane mould and after we lost Nicholls we thought we needed to bring in another midfielder and Simon fits the bill.
"He's athletic, all-action, covers the pitch well and likes a tackle."
Money also revealed that in-form striker Steve Basham cannot be recalled from his loan spell at Hayes & Yeading, where he has smashed eight goals in 11 games for Town Blue Square Premier rivals.
Leading Wrexham scorer Gareth Taylor, a former Wales international, is still struggling with an ankle injury.
He has only played 11 games in 2010 and looks set to to miss the game.
Experienced defender Frank Sinclair is suspended after being sent off in Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Altrincham.
It is the first of a three-game ban for the former Chelsea and Leicester centre-back whose challenge left Tom Kearney with a broken his leg.
The Welsh side will also be miss last term's player of the season, striker Marc Williams, who is out for the season after fracturing a metatarsal.
Wrexham midfielder Luke Holden, meanwhile, believes Wrexham FC are set to give someone "a goods hiding" after they were held to their third 1-1 draw in a row on Tuesday, against Altrincham.
He said: "We're very disappointed because it's the same old story, we've let in another sloppy goal late on from a set-piece.
"We have to put things right on Saturday against Luton Town, but we know it will be tough because we're away from home and they're doing well."
Wrexham enjoyed a superb 3-0 win over the Hatters at the Racecourse Ground earlier in the season, a performance former Luton boss Mick Harford described as the worst in the club's history.
Wrexham manager Dean Saunders said: "Our win over Luton was probably our best performance of the season.
"They were red hot favourites to win the league at the time but, on the night, we played really well and took our chances when they came along.
"It is difficult to adapt to playing at this level though because there's a lot of pressure and expectation surrounding ex-Football League sides.
"That's something Luton and ourselves have both had to try and come to terms with.
"I've been fortunate enough to have worked at the highest level in my career - and that's difficult - but believe me the Conference is a desperately difficult league to get out of."
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Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
