Hayrettin lauds Town’s spirit after thriller

Town had been trailing by two goals after just 23 minutes, but clawed their way back to 3-3 by half time and then went on to win the game late on after a magnificent strike by substitute Alex Wall.

Hayrettin said: “It was unbelievable, great spirit. We fought to the death, we believed we could get back into the game and did that.

“There were times this season when we didn’t play well and battled our way through it, but we played exceptionally well in a lot of games and maybe didn’t get what we deserved.

“Maybe we didn’t play as well as what we could do this time, but we showed we’ve got a spirit and never say die attitude there, and that means a lot in the camp and it’s been installed.

“I’m just so pleased that the boys have showed something that I don’t know in the last two or three years if we’ve had that attitude that is needed to drive on.

“Sometimes you’ve got to do the best you possibly can for your team mates and every single one of them threw their shirts on the line to make sure we got something out of the game.

“We’re in a street fight and we’ve got to swing to come out the other end. To come from 3-1 down to 3-3 and win the game in that style, was unbelievable.”

Hayrettin also spoke in glowing terms about Hatters’ unwavering support, as there wasn’t a hint of unrest despite Town’s perilous position at one stage.

He continued: “With this crowd that we’ve got behind us it gives the boys that push, that desire, that drive and those qualities we’ve shown maybe come from the supporters sometimes.

“That support when we were 3-1 down, they got behind the side, there was no sign of negativity and they drove us on. They were unbelievable.

“We can only hope that they continue all season. We’ve got to have that same desire, same attitude, same professionalism to keep doing the right things, keep driving on.”

The coach also confirmed there was no injury to striker Mark Cullen who dropped out of the squad despite scoring four goals in his last three games, while Jake Howells was only on the bench too, adding: “The manager has always stressed, the team is not about the team that plays, it’s about the whole squad.

“The whole squad will be utilised as and when required, so they need to be ready.

“He thought it was the best thing to do to play these players and for us it worked.

“Howells has been outstanding for us, but he changed it slightly to play two up top and I think it showed maybe when we had that further up the pitch it works better for us.

“But there was no negativity from anyone in the camp. It was something that he wanted to do to get the result and the manager decided to do that and he got three points.”