Hatters without Kovacs for Newport clash

Kovacs, who had been in and out of the side for the early stages of the campaign, appears to be back in favour under manager Paul Buckle now, and the boss was frustrated at having to change a winning side once more.

Buckle said: “It’s not nice when you have to keep changing and certainly we’ve been in good form and I don’t want to change that.

“I’ve got players who can come in and do very well for me, I trust all the squad and we proved against Dorchester that we’ve got competition.

“We’ve not got massive numbers but what makes it very healthy is that players are treated the same whether they are in or out of the team. I’m sure whoever comes in will do very well for us.”

Buckle has options with Dean Beckwith and Alex Lacey both having recovered from broken noses suffered against Dorchester Town in FA Cup and FA Trophy clashes.

The boss continued: “They’re (Beckwith and Lacey) both strong lads and have had enough time for that to heal up.

“They’ve both put themselves on the line though and I don’t want to see people get broken noses, but at the same time, it shows they’re putting their head in where it hurts and that’s what we have to do.

“They might be a little bit crooked, but that’s part of their job. They’re not going to be into their looks I wouldn’t have thought.”

Recently returned full back Greg Taylor is also an option with Lathaniel Rowe-Turner able to move across from left back as Buckle said: “All the players are in contention.

“If I feel anyone out there couldn’t pull on a Luton shirt, I’d pull them, bring them in to the office and say it’s time to move on.

“Greg has come back and looked bright. The players who have been out on loan have come back and found we’re a lot more aggressive, a lot more to the point and determined.

“We’ve found different routes to goal now, Greggers knows our style and is doing everything he can get into the team.”

Speaking about his ban after the 3-0 win over Alfreton on Saturday, Kovacs was disappointed to be missing such a crucial match.

He said: “I thought the rules were you had to wait seven days before you get suspended. I asked Neilsy (Alan Neilson) and he said I’d be suspended on Tuesday, but I’m pretty sure that the lads will do the job.”

Kovacs had been stuck on four bookings since the 2-0 FA Cup replay win at Nuneaton, but never considered trying to manufacture a caution to miss a Trophy match as he said: “Of course you can be clever sometimes to get the suspension out of the way.

“If you’ve got a less important, if you can say in football, less important game, but it’s never good.

“If you play like you need to get the booking, that’s risky, so I wasn’t going for that one.”

The defender was well aware that victory would draw Town alongside their opponents on 39 points, and knows Hatters will then be in a good position ahead of a congested Christmas schedule.

He added: “If we win, then with the games in hand, we can be in a very, very good position.

“It’s important to know what’s happening around you result wise. But I keep saying this, we have to focus on ourselves. After the games, everyone is checking the table, but if we focus on ourselves we can be a top team.”

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