Kovacs raring to go after break

A spell on the sidelines might just have done defender Janos Kovacs the world of good as he helped Luton progress to the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday, writes Mike Simmonds.

Kovacs, 27, was brought back into the Hatters side for his first start since being hauled off during the break in the 4-1 defeat at Grimsby Town six games ago.

Speaking about his decision to drop the Hungarian, manager Paul Buckle had stated his defender needed a break due to mental fatigue, something Kovacs agreed with.

He said: “Maybe I was mentally a little bit tired, but hopefully I can come back stronger than ever as I’m hungry to play now.”

Kovacs looked like he was back to the high standards he had set last season at the Abbey Stadium, dominating in the air, and believes that being dropped might well have helped his game.

But with both on-loan defenders Connor Essam and Simon Ainge available for Saturday’s crunch trip to promotion rivals Forest Green Rovers, whether Kovacs remains in the side is another matter though.

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