Luton have been boosted by the news that Rowan Vine and Chris Coyne could both be available for selection for Saturday's FA Cup showdown with Liverpool at Kenilworth Road.
Coyne picked up a dead leg in the defeat by Ipswich whilst Vine collected a suspected hamstring injury in the game against Watford. However both players have been back in training this week and are fighting to be match fit for the big game.
Newell hopes to have a relatively strong squad at his disposal with the only players unlikely to be fit being Sol Davies and Peter Holmes.
The Hatters boss said: "Coyne is very close and he got some training in yesterday. There was no chance of him playing against Watford because there was no time for him to recover. I knew when he came off against Ipswich that he was going to be doubtful for the Watford game.
"Rowan's injury is not as bad as we first feared. We first thought that it would be a hamstring strain but it turns out that it may have been cramp. Rowan has also completed some training this week and he is touch-and-go."
The Hatters boss has had little trouble in lifting his players following Monday's disappointing defeat at Watford but admits that he isn't sure how that result will have affected them.
Newell continued: "The players can't wait for the game but you don't know how much Monday's defeat has affected them. The disappointment is still lingering and it will be nice to erase that memory with a good performance tomorrow.
"You don't know until you have played against Liverpool how much the players have been affected by the last couple of games. Subconsciously the players will have always had one eye on the Liverpool game."
Newell believes Liverpool will have learnt their lesson from last season's FA Cup campaign and will field a strong team on Saturday, which could include the likes of Steve Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Peter Crouch.
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Subconsciously the players will have always had one eye on the Liverpool game. |
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Liverpool were defeated by lower league opposition in last seasons FA Cup when Burnley were 1-0 winners at Turf Moor.
And although Newell expects Liverpool to make some changes to their side, he believes that Rafa Benetiz will be taking the competition very seriously this season.
Newell added: "I don't want to be playing against Liverpool's reserve side tomorrow and nor do my players. That is not being disrespectful towards anyone who was playing against Burnley but I don't think Liverpool will make the same mistake again.
"The FA Cup is still important to Liverpool supporters and I am not sure he (Rafa Benetiz) realised that. I know he had other priorities at the time but the reaction after the Burnley game will have told him that this competition is still very important to their supporters.
"I am sure he will rotate and rest players because of the heavy schedule that they have had but we certainly won't be doing that."
