Kovacs: Hatters keeping feet on the ground
After netting twice in the 2-0 win over Championship Ipswich, Janos Kovacs was delighted with the result but determined the side would keep their feet firmly on the ground.
The 26-year-old Hungarian re-joined the Hatters in January for his second spell in Bedfordshire and said he was just as pleased with the clean sheet as he was with his brace.
And looking forward to the campaign, he insisted that although they are in a good place at the moment, there is still plenty of work to be done in the remaining two weeks of pre-season.
“First of all I'm happy with the clean sheet against a Championship side, and the rest is a bonus,” Kovacs said.
“We won the game as a team so I'm happy with the result. Of course it's always nice to score! We just need to build ourselves up for the season. Everything starts with a clean sheet in football.
“It's great that we played a Championship side and beat them 2-0, but on the other side I don't want to get carried away because this was just a friendly.
“It was a good performance today but the Blue Square Bet Premier will be different I'm pretty sure. We just need to get ready for that, and this was a good runout and a good performance from us.”
And Kovacs said he was pleased with the way the team is coming together, and believes Paul Buckle's decision to have a smaller squad will pay dividends this season.
“Pre-season is about personnel, shape, tactics and of course fitness,” he continued.
“At the end, the best eleven will be on the pitch for the first game and everybody needs to force themselves into the starting eleven and keep their shirt.
“This is a good relationship in a squad, that's the main thing. Everyone is fighting for places now.
“I think we have a much smaller squad than we had last season but we have many more players who can play in different positions. It's always good for the squad and for the gaffer.
“We are also much closer to each other. When there are 34 players, a few players cannot get into a shape session because we have too many players, which is frustrating for those players.
“It can be negative in my eyes if you have too big a squad. I think we are much closer to each other and hopefully it will be a good ending this year.”
And the former Lincoln and Hereford centre-back is confident that he and his team-mates can finally achieve a return to the Football League as they enter their fourth season in the Conference.
“You need to be confident, you need to be positive as a professional footballer. Without confidence you cannot reach anything,” he added.
“It's a good feeling, it's always good to win and we need to be winners all through the season. If we can do that then I'm pretty sure we will be in League Two next season.
“Everybody's smiling every day even if we're running a lot or working hard on the training pitch so it is very important that everybody is a positive person in the changing room. We just need to keep this attitude.
“Of course with good results it's easier, but I'm pretty sure we will have bad performances, bad results through the season but because it will be a long season we just need to stay positive and I think we have that kind of a squad now.”