Danny Hylton says he relishes the underdog tag as the Hatters toppled another former Premier League opposition in Stoke City last night to take themselves within two points of the play-off places.
Hylton and Cameron Jerome found the back of the net on a cold, wet night in Stoke to give them a first win against the Potters since 2000, a record staff and players alike were pleased to see the back of.
“The most important thing was three points,” the striker said. “It’s boring and cliché but it’s true, we’re on a good run at the moment. Not too many games to go so we’re just going to keep trying to pick up as many points as we can. Stoke away is a tough place to come, it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s windy and they have some brilliant individuals in their team, so it was great to come here and win.”
Utilised in an unfamiliar ‘number ten’ role, Hylton not only effected the game with his goal but overall play, hassling the opposition and linking play with Harry Cornick and Elijah Adebayo.
“I found out the day before I was playing a slightly deeper role. There was a little bit more defensive responsibility to stop Joe Allen getting on the ball more than anything. I also had licence to get forward and run in the box also like I managed to do and tried to create problems.
“When Harry Cornick is running down the wing, no one is going to catch him so I thought I’d run in the box, he put a great ball in and I managed to get a little touch on it and I was delighted to see it go in.
With less than a third of the season to go, the striker said post-match: “The most important thing was three points. It’s boring and cliché but it’s true, we’re on a good run at the moment. Not too many games to go so we’re just going to keep trying to pick up as many points as we can. Stoke away is a tough place to come, it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s windy and they have some brilliant individuals in their team, so it was great to come here and win.”
And having been a huge part of Luton’s rise through the leagues in recent years, Hylton and the clubs’ ambition isn’t stopping any time soon, as the striker explained: “It has been some journey. The gaffer has always said that since I have been here, the aim was always to get into this division but then we were never going to come into this division and be happy with staying in the division, it isn’t the Luton way.
“We love being underdogs, we love people not giving us a chance or thinking they are bigger or better than us. We thrive off that and coming here is the perfect example. Stoke are a big team, have been in the Premier League, brilliant individuals but we came here, worked hard and we have quality in the team as well which came out today.”