Heed boy Jon up for reunion

The 28-year-old striker joined the Hatters on a free transfer from the Tynesiders in the summer and he is hoping to be involved against his old club at the weekend having finally overcome a calf niggle.

He said: “Obviously I keep an eye on what they’re doing and every now and again I text message.

“I talk to their captain Ben Clark, we are still good friends.

“We had a little giggle when we first saw the fixtures, but like I said before I’ve got to play them at some stage and to have them first game at home...

“You are going to have to play them at some stage in the season when you stay in the same league and what better way to start.

“They will come off fresh from pre-season, they’ve had a couple of good results and they try and play the right way.

“They’re a great footballing outfit and I’m looking forward to seeing them.

“There’s no real added pressure on us and there’s no real pressure on them.

“We both play good football but it’s about who kickstarts the season first and we want to be that team.”

He netted 35 times for the Heed last term and admits he has some insight into how they play.

“Obviously I do know how they play after being there and I know Boges (manager Ian Bogie) believes strongly in the way that he plays and the way that he puts his teams out,” said Shaw.

“But I think this season is about how we play. I think if we are going to win it we’re going to have to impose ourselves on whoever it is, no matter who comes through the door.

“I’m sure there might be a little of who’s going to play here and how are they going to play.

“We want to go out there and not really care who we are playing against, go out there and play our game and come away with as many wins as we can.”

And he can’t wait to finally sample the Kenilworth Road atmosphere playing in the orange of Luton.

“I must admit it is a big draw. I’ve spent a lot of years now at places with small crowds,” he continued.

“I’ve got used to it now playing in this league for a while, but coming to Kenilworth Road obviously for every other club it’s like a cup final.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had that many fans on my side.

“So I’m hoping next week a lot of them turn up and they rock this place ready for the season.”

Having finally got over a hernia operation and a calf problem he played his first game at Brackley last week and netted two minutes after coming on at half time in the 1-0 defeat of League One Leyton Orient on Saturday.

Shaw said: “At the start of this week I was a little bit tentative.

“What with it being a calf injury you can never completely trust them.

“But you have to mentally get past that, go out there and give it everything you possibly can.

“There’s no way better to test it than playing against a good side like Leyton Orient.

“If the ball’s there to be chased after I’m going to have to run after it anyway.

“There’s going to be times in the season when I’m not just down the middle and I am out wide. To come out of a game unscathed and with a goal and a win it couldn’t have really been any better.

“After a frustrating couple of weeks, obviously with the injury and missing a few games, I’m delighted to get on at home. And obviously to score so early was what I needed I think.

“It has been frustrating. I did the first three weeks of pre-season fine, after having a hernia operation earlier in the summer, so I was quite happy with my fitness and then a week out where we had four games it seemed like I was out forever and frustrating for myself.

“I’ve come back, had a good week’s training, played 45 Wednesday, played today, got a goal and timed it right for the start of the season I think.”

However, he faces stiff competition from Andre Gray, Stuart Fleetwood and Scott Rendell for one of the likely three starting positions up front, all of whom have played a prominent role during pre-season.

He continued: “You want to come in, you want to give the manager a headache for the start of the season.

“That’s the kind of headache he wants. If he’s got four players who are all playing well, I’m sure managers in this league and the league above would like four forwards who are all playing well to choose from.

“He’s got that and he’s got young Dan Walker as well who scored three last night and he’s got some great players.

“So I’m sure it’s a good headache for him to have and for us it keeps us on our toes and trying as hard as we can.

“We’ve got a good week of work between now and then and hopefully after coming on and playing I will be in the manager’s thoughts.”

But he refused to place too much pressure on himself, adding: “I’ve never been one to add to much pressure to myself. I think it can have an adverse effect on you and I know having a season like that I did last year people automatically expect that you are going to carry on scoring goals but nothing’s a sure thing, nothing’s definite when you sign in football.

“But I will be giving it everything I possibly can in training and for the club to try and emulate that and score as many as I can.

“Let’s start the season, let’s get the club up at the top of it and hopefully win the league regardless of who scores the goals.”