Luton look to stretch lead at lowly Lincoln City

The 2-1 New Year’s Day victory over Barnet put the Hatters four points clear of Cambridge United at the top of the Skrill Premier.

United had seen their game at Braintree postponed and, with scheduled opponents Grimsby Town in FA Cup action on Saturday, they will again be without a game, handing the Hatters the chance to go seven points clear at the top.

Striker Paul Benson said: “Would you take four points or two games in hand? I think I would rather the points in the bag. It piles a bit of pressure on and we go to Saturday now and I don’t think Cambridge are playing Saturday, so every chance to go seven points clear and really put the ball back into their court and see who can chase us and who can catch us.

“We need to go up to Lincoln and we need to grab that opportunity with both hands to be honest with you and I think the lads will be ready for it.

“It’s a tough place to go, don’t get me wrong, but every game in this league, every place we go is tough, but with the spirit we’ve got in the squad we’re up for every challenge there is so we’ll go there full of confidence and put in a good performance.”

Skipper Ronnie Henry knows Town have a real chance to put some distance between themselves and the chasing pack at Sincil Bank, with the Imps missing a number of players through suspension.

But he also knows there’s still a long way to go and they need to maintain their standards, saying: “Of course it does (put pressure on), we’re top of the league now and people are looking up at us and we need to keep them below us. We need to charge on now.

“There’s still a long way to go and a lot of effort still to be put in. We are nowhere near the finish yet. We need to keep going. I think all the lads are level-headed in there and they know what they need to do. We’ll take it each game as it comes and we’ll go home now and rest and be in tomorrow and prepare for Saturday’s, another big game away to Lincoln, so we look forward to it.”

Town’s fantastic run of 18 league games without defeat has seen them slash the U’s considerable lead and subsequently overtake them, and Benson warned that was a sign you should never take anything for granted.

He added: “That shows also it doesn’t matter how far clear you are, because you can always be caught and that’s what we’ve got to be mindful of.

“We just want to keep putting wins on the board, keep getting points on the board and let’s see where we stand come the end of the season.”