Wembley is the perfect shopwindow to shine says McAllister

TOMORROW’S Wembley promotion final is the ideal shopwindow for Craig McAllister to secure a new deal for next season, writes Mark Wood.

The on-loan Newport County target man is concentrating in the job in hand against York, but admitted there was plenty at stake beyond that.

He said: “It’s a massive shopwindow for everyone. You always seem to get more phonecalls off managers when you are in a promotion-winning side than if you’re not.

“First of all if I can help the club get up and then address my situation then that’s how it will have to be.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute since I’ve been here. Not played as much as I would have liked to but it’s a fresh start next year if I stay here and I’m sure I’d get an opportunity.

“But once I’ve sort of addressed it with Newport in the summer we’ll go from there. It all depends if the manager wants to keep me or not.”

And if Sunday does turn out to be his last game in a Luton shirt, he is hoping to sign off in style.

He said: “Let’s hope I can just get one more goal. If I just have one more game for Luton in my career hopefully I can leave with a goal.”

Despite having been brought in by previous boss Gary Brabin he seems to have had more of a chance under new boss Paul Buckle.

McAllister said: “I would have just liked to have a few more minutes to try and get a few more goals.

“It’s gone as well as I would have liked it to over the last month or two.

“When I first came in I played one or two games and I was desperate to get a goal and it didn’t quite happen.

“And I sort of disappointed myself by that and put a little more pressure on myself. It was a relief to finally get off with a goal.”

On the new boss coming in, he continued: “It was a fresh start for everyone including myself. Paul had seen me play quite a lot before. He’s down from the south west and manager at Torquay and I was at Exeter.

“I kind of had that in the back of my mind that he knew what I was about.

“The lads were doing quite well before he came in, the forwards.

“He thinks highly of Fleets as well because he might have tried to sign him a few times as well and Andre was scoring, so I knew it would be difficult to get back in.

“But it was kind of a fresh start again and hope maybe again for if I do stay.”

McAllister is the only out-and-out target man in a squad that is relative small in size, and he’s hoping his physical attributes may enable him to extend his stay at Kenilworth Road as Luton look to move through the leagues.

He added: “There a physical side to the game. It’s another tough league to get out of again.

“Obviously there’s more of an opportunity because four go up.

“We have a reasonably small-sized team, which doesn’t mean we’re not going to do well.

“I’m the only sort of target man at the club for that style of play, so he may need that next year he might not. But I’m hoping he does and it’s me.”