When Mick Harford returned to Luton, there was one player who couldn't have been more delighted to see him back at Kenilworth Road.

Stephen O"Leary was given his debut under the managerial regime of Joe Kinnear and Harford in 2003 after patiently working his way through the set-up at Kenilworth Road. Since then, the midfielder has endured a frustrating 'stop-start' career that has seen him make just 45 appearances in a Hatters shirt - the majority of them coming from off the bench.

But O'Leary is more determined than ever to put them days behind him and become a fixture in Harford's plans for the future.

With Steve Robinson serving the first of a two match suspension against Millwall on Tuesday night, combined with a crippling injury list at the Club, O'Leary is determined to grasp this current opportunity with both hands.

It was O'Leary's first League start of the season against Millwall and the midfielder was pleased with his own performance during the 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road.

"I thought I played well," he said. "I think the performance from everybody was a general improvement from the last few weeks where we know we haven't been playing well.

"In the second half I felt we really bossed the game and the lads came into the dressing room at full-time and were bitterly disappointed not to have collected the win.

"If we can continue to perform like we did against Swansea and Millwall then there is no doubt that we will win more games between now and the end of the season."

Talking about his own career, O'Leary continued: "Nobody ever likes to see your own team-mates pick up suspensions or suffer injuries, but these things do happen in football.

"My career at Luton has been stopstart and I just need that bit of luck that will give me a chance to show the supporters what I can do.

"What has been particularly frustrating for me is that I don't think that Luton supporters have really seen the best of me.

"I have watched the likes of Kevin Foley and Curtis Davies all progress their careers and I believe I have it in me to do the same.

"It's up to me now to show Mick what I can do. I'm just trying to knuckle down, work hard and see what happens."

O'Leary, who has spent time on-loan at Tranmere earlier in his career, believes that Harford's arrival will eventually reap its reward.

The 23-year-old admits Harford has brought a different work ethic to the training ground that is slowly having an effect on the pitch.

"Mick has brought in some good ideas. He is an excellent coach, one of the best I have worked with in my career. He knows how to bring the best out of players.

"For me personally, he is always talking to me about how I can improve my game, giving me advice in training and that helps me immensely.

"He has also shown that he is willing to give the youngsters a chance.We have seen George Beavan this season and Ryan Charles was on the bench against Millwall, so he is not affraid to throw people in at the deep end."

O'Leary signed a new one year contract under pervious boss Kevin Blackwell at the start of the season, but he isn't worrying himself about his immediate future.

The Londoner want to fully focus on today's match against Walsall and try to convince Harford he should be a permanent member of Luton's starting line-up.

He continued: "I don't want to think about my future at the moment. I don't want to get bogged down in all of that. Whatever happens in the future will happen in the future.

"The only thing on my mind is the game this afternoon. I want to put in another decent performance and continue to show what I can do.

"I went on-loan to Tranmere and maybe if things hadn't changed at the Club I might have been forced to go somewhere on-loan again.

"However, Mick has been giving me some opportunities and now I want to prove to people what I can do."