As much chance of sticking a pumpkin on my head

Last updated : 02 November 2006 By Tony Scholes
Luton went into the game on the back of the 5-0 defeat at Ipswich but Newell was not getting over concerned with the situation. “It's been a bad week for us and we've lost two league games, but that's all it is,” he said, adding, “We're not going to get carried away or over excited, there's a reason why we lost the games, we've been hit by injury and illness and it has taken its toll.”

There was some criticism of his defenders on the two goals and he admitted that saying: “Leon Barnett misjudged the ball for the first goal and for the second Markus Heikkinen expected someone to get a touch on it. But if everyone is marking it would be 0-0 every week and nobody would come to watch.”

Returning to the injury theme he concluded by saying: “We'll get over this, our major problem at the moment is that we've got five or six big players out, who would all possibly be first choice.”

Steve Cotterill surveyed his decimated squad, which was down to sixteen for the night because of illness and injury, and then saw Stephen Foster ruled out for Saturday with a red card.

“We were down to sixteen tonight, that was it, we had nobody else. Gifton and Garreth were both ill whilst John McGreal and Wayne Thomas were both injured. We knew Wayne wouldn't play after the injury he got in the Preston game, but we try to keep things close to our chest as much as we can.

“We've got to almost desperate measures, so I don't know about waiting to see if we are up there at Christmas before we get some reinforcements in. We need them before we get to Christmas because otherwise we won't have any substitutes on the bench.

“I've said for a while that I'm sick and tired of saying we have the smallest squad, and if we want to stay there or thereabouts we need bodies. The boys have given their absolute all again, they are first class, but sometimes …..

“We need to spend now, but the prospects of that happening are the same as me getting home, sticking a pumpkin on my head and celebrating Halloween.”

Onto the game, the Clarets' boss said: “We are delighted because this was a tough game. We scored a couple of excellent goals and had another clean sheet. We don't have any problems with the sending off and neither has Stephen who is an honest lad. We are disappointed but have no complaints and accept it.”

He ended with words from the almost 700 Burnley fans in the back yards of Oak Street who were in fine voice all night. “The support was magnificent. For them to come all this way on a Tuesday night, and for all the hours they put in and the time they will get back, we are just delighted to send them back home happy.”