Midfielder Allan Campbell turned in a man of the match winning performance at home to Preston North End yesterday, but spoke of his regret at not being able to provide the goal or assist that would earn the Hatters a result.
Town went down to Brad Potts’ 18th-minute strike, with the visitors slowing the game down whenever they could to secure the three points on a boiling hot afternoon at the Kenny.
“We knew going into the game that the first goal would be important, trying to chase the game in this heat,” said Campbell.
“To be fair to them, they scored their goal and made it difficult for us by time-wasting and controlled the game well, but on the other hand, I thought we could have been more clinical in the box and that’s just the things we are missing now, taking those chances.
“We had a lot of shots but not a lot on target. It’s just that final thing we do with the ball. At the end of the day, it’s what matters in both boxes. They were clinical with the chance they got, and we weren’t.”
Campbell saw a shot blocked in the first half after some quick footwork on the edge of the box, then had one of the best chances of the game in the second when Elliot Thorpe’s cross was diverted into his path by Elijah Adebayo, only for his shot to fly past the post.
His energy in midfield helped earn him the match sponsors’ award as the pick of Nathan Jones’ team on the day, and he said: “I think I’ve started all right, but you know what it’s like, the main thing is if I could have got a wee goal there or an assist, it would have been the cherry on top of the cake.
“That’s my game. I’m just expected to give my all, and I’ll always give my all for the fans and do my part for the team, and hopefully if I can keep doing that, we can start picking up points.”
Campbell insists the squad won’t let the fact that they haven’t won in their opening four league and cup matches of the season, despite some positive performances in all of them, affect their confidence ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Bristol City.
He said: “Going into every game, you think you should be winning and I think as a club, we think we should be winning the games, but that’s football. We aren’t going to dwell on it.
“There are many games to come. Tuesday’s coming, so we need to recover well over the next two days, look at what we need to get better at, look at what we can do to beat Bristol City, and make sure we are ready for it.
“We need to show a lot of character. Going away from home is never easy in this league, so we need to be ready, do the basics, work hard, make sure we are clinical in the box and make sure we get a win.”