Still unfussed by return of O’Connor and Willmott

The duo were with Town last season, before being released by ex-boss Paul Buckle, but have got into a number of confrontations with Luton fans on Twitter over the course of their time at Newport County AFC.

Speaking to the press this afternoon, Still said: “The object to the exercise isn’t to beat Newport County in our second from last home game of the season, the object of the exercise is to get a team ready to win the league next season.

“I can’t really worry about personal battles with players or supporters, I’ve got to get a team that’s going to be mentally strong enough, physically strong enough, technically good enough, to get us out of this league.

“That’s the job, it’s not to worry about petty things between supporters and players, that’s not my job.”

Whatever the result against County, Still remains very much in planning mode for the new campaign and will be concentrating on his side’s performance as he continued: “If we went and won three or four nil against Newport, would that make me think, that’s if we’ve made it? And if we lost, three or four nil, would I think it’s all gone wrong? Not really.

“I’m expecting us to play okay and as long as the level of performance is of an acceptable standard, that will mean we’re gradually finding a part of where we want to go to.

“Would it be good to play well and win? Yes. Would it be good to play well and not win? That would be all right as well.

“Performance levels is what we’re looking for. I don’t think it will tell us any stories about where we’re going to be next year, I think it might show how much the players are learning for what we’re trying to do.

“It’s been difficult as we played on Friday, warmed down on Saturday, trained today, can’t do too much as we’re playing Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

“Technically this is our last training session as we’ll warm down on Tuesday and Wednesday, play Thursday, travel Friday, play Saturday.

“I’m not really pushing much into them at the moment, a lot of it is down to players understanding it.”

One thing that was more noticeable during the 1-1 draw against Grimsby was the players finally seemed to be enjoying their football which is a major part of what Still is trying to achieve at the club.

He added: “I was quite surprised when I came in. The confidence was low after game I went to watch at Braintree.

“People have to understand, Braintree have beaten some good clubs, it’s not easy going to Braintree, so I always say, ‘don’t think you’re too good to be beat by other teams in this league, whoever you are.’

“I always look at defeats to see how you respond to disappointment. You get lots of disappointments in life and gradually I feel the understanding of what we require here, how we want to play here, I’m seeing a bit more of it.

“We lost at Gateshead but have responded with two really, really good performances.

“If you are suffering from a lack of confidence, well work harder, play better and get over it. Sulking or being miserable and not wanting to express yourself, is not going to get you anywhere.

“It’s quite simple. If you play football, you want to enjoy it and get a smile on you face, you can’t play in a shell.

“You should get an enormous amount of pleasure. A lot of people have jobs they don’t like, these people have jobs they love, so go out there and don’t play under a cloud.

“We’re going to get a ball out and go and play football. Are we going to go and play football or are we going to go and unload lorries in the cold?

“There’s nothing wrong with unloading lorries or working in supermarkets or cleaning streets, I wouldn’t degrade that.

“But you’ve got a chance to play football every day of the week, come on! That’s how I look at it, play with a smile on your face.”

For all the latest Luton Town FC news, reports, stats, player profiles, live match updates, MOM poll, prediction table and a complete fixture list, visit our Hatters Microsite.