Town boss hopes for sea of orange at Fleetwood

Town travel in the knowledge they need just a point to secure a top five finish, and it’s an encounter manager and players are relishing.

New boss Paul Buckle, who has an unbeaten record of three wins and two draws since taking charge, said: “The fans are as desperate as I am to get out of this division and I’m sure they will be there in their numbers.

“I would be very surprised if we didn’t see a sea of orange behind the goal.

“I think it will be a carnival atmosphere and rightly so. They’ve (Fleetwood) earned their right to get the trophy so we congratulate them on that.

“But we know we’ve got a job to do. We know a point’s enough but at the same time we’ve got to try and be positive and go for three.

“It will be a good game and I’m sure it will be a fantastic atmosphere.”

Captain George Pilkington was in no doubt the Hatters would be ready for the weekend’s make-or-break encounter too.

He said: “I’m sure there will be a few nerves, but we need to turn that into positive energy and produce a play-off like performance to get us into the play-offs on the biggest stage, with Fleetwood being champions.

“It is that tight. It’s in our hands, but it’s going to be a very tough task up at Fleetwood.

“They are the games you want to be a part of, it shouldn’t take much getting up for.

“They are a very tough team, they score freely and it’s up to us to go there and get ourselves into the play-off place.”

The skipper also sent a rallying call out to fans as he added: “They’ve come out again to Gateshead, a very, very long journey.

“You can hear them throughout the game and they’ve stuck with us through thick and thin.

“Hopefully next week we can make them proud of us and go and get a good result.”

Keeper Mark Tyler is fully focused on getting the result the Hatters need. He said: “Who doesn’t want to go to Fleetwood and play? They are the champions.

“We want to put on a show and show everyone in the play-offs we mean business.

“Hopefully we can go there, play football like we have been doing at home and grind out a good result.

“We know what our objective is.

“We need one more point and hopefully Mansfield can maybe do us a favour, but you can’t rely on results like that.

“We will go there full of confidence after the last five games.

“Don’t get me wrong, the gaffer will be kicking us up the backside if we’re not doing it right during the week.

“We will go out how we do in every game and go and win the game. That’s our first objective.

“If it comes down to 90 minutes and it’s a 0-0 we are happy.”

On the Hatters travelling fans, who have attended away games in their droves this season, Tyler continued: “Hopefully there will be a good turnout.

“I know it’s a one o’clock kick-off but they travelled to Gateshead and were magnificent as they always have been.

“Hopefully there will be a good atmosphere there and we will come out on top.”

It’s the second season in a row that Luton will have to face the galling sight of another team receiving the Conference trophy, after witnessing Crawley Town lift the silverware last year, but Pilkington is determined Luton should use it to spur themselves on.

He said: “That feeling for them will be much different but hopefully we can use that to our advantage.

“It’s important we concentrate on what we do, stick to our gameplan and make sure that numbers one to 11 who are on the pitch are at the races.”

A bullish Tyler was adamant he wouldn’t even see Fleetwood celebrate their own success, adding: “We won’t be watching it, so it doesn’t bother me.

“We’ve got our own aim to go there and it doesn’t bother me.

“They’ve won it fair and square so well played to them.

“Our job is to get a point to get in the play-offs and we will be in the changing room celebrating that at the end of the game and not watching them.”

The match has been chosen for live coverage by Premier Sports TV.

It is pay on the day for Hatters fans, with an allocation of 975 terrace tickets and approximately 400 seats available.

Prices for seating are £18 for adults, £14 for O65s, £13 for U16s and free for U5s.

Terrace costs are £15 for adults, £10 for O65s and U16s, with U5s free.

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