Town defender Dan Potts has said he believes the squad are ‘rising to the challenge’ of Championship football despite the Hatters being on the wrong end of a 3-2 score-line against Fulham last night.
Town fell to defeat at Craven Cottage courtesy of Aleksandar Mitrovic’s hat-trick, but took plenty of positives after taking the hosts right to the wire.
Speaking post-match, the left-back insisted that Wednesday night’s match was a ‘tale of two halves’ as the Hatters put in a strong second half performance.
Potts said: “I think first half, we came here with a game plan trying to be in a good, compact shape and not give them much. I think they showed first half just how good a side they were, maybe that was down to us giving them a little bit too much respect.
“Obviously the goal was disappointing from our behalf but then again, we had a few chances, a few openings in the first half. Alright, we went in at 1-0 but it could have easily been 1-1.
“You would argue they definitely had the lion’s share of possession in the first half but then second half we tweaked it a little bit and I thought we went out there second half and gave a much better account of ourselves. A couple of disappointing goals in the end but definitely some positives we can take forward.”
The 2010 Europa League finalists are the league’s joint second top goalscorers but Potts shared how Town have improved by playing such tricky opposition.
“You look at the sort of games we’ve had away from home this year, we’ve definitely come away from them with plenty of positives and nothing to fear. In that respect, I think it is one of those things now moving forward that we start games the way we started the second half, the way we were on the front foot and not giving teams the respect because we deserve to be here, we’re part of this league and we want to win.
“We want to come here and give a good account of ourselves, we’re not here to just get a 0-0 and be happy with it, we want to win these games.”
On a personal note, Potts has now started the last five games in the Championship and explained: “I feel strong, I feel good. It’s another step up, bigger demands, fitness levels have got to go up, everything’s got to go up. Mentally, physically, tactically, the manager is pushing not just myself but everyone in there. Everyone is rising to the challenge, alright we lost tonight, but we’re in a good moment and we’ve got to take it into Saturday now for sure.
His header brought the game back to 2-1 as he glanced the ball off the surface and found the top corner. On his goal, the 25-year-old added: “It is definitely something I want to keep in my game, Izzy’s deliveries are top, top drawer, that’s what he has got and that’s what he can bring. You know he is going to put it in an area and it’s on us lads to get good contact and get the goal.”
Town are back in action on Saturday afternoon as they travel to St Andrew's to face Birmingham City.
International supporters are reminded they can stream and follow the game live on iFollow Hatters. Subscribers can also tune into Simon Pitts’ full match commentary.