Town Head Coach Luke Williams gave his reaction to the local media in the wake of his side’s 3-2 defeat to Luton Town in the Checkatrade Trophy…
ON THE RESULT AND BOWING OUT OF THE CHECKATRADE TROPHY:
“It is a missed opportunity but the first thing to say is that the opposition were very good. I know Nathan Jones, the manager, he is excellent and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him at the top level of the game in the near future.
“I knew from the beginning that the opposition were going to be good, that they were going to be very organised and very aware of their roles and that proved to be the case.
“For us it was disappointing because we took the lead so you feel like you’ve got a great chance to win, but it was an opportunity for some players to show Tim (Sherwood) what their qualities are and try to stake a claim to be on the pitch more.
“There were some mistakes from some players and some below-par performances from some players but on the whole I think we learned more positives than negatives.”
ON LUKE NORRIS’ GOAL:
“He was outstanding and the goal was superb because he hits it first-time with no mistake, the right power and he bends the ball around the goalkeeper – it was pretty much perfect.
“His overall contribution to the game was excellent and it is something we’ve all seen within Luke, especially in training, and we know that he’s going to improve and improve.”
ON WILL HENRY:
“You don’t ever want to see a player suffer and make a mistake but when they do, and they will, the next thing is to look at how they respond and I thought he responded really well.
“He picked himself up very quickly and then had some more attempts on goal that skipped off the surface that he had to deal with and he did that.”
ON JERMAINE HYLTON AND JORDAN YOUNG:
“It was brilliant to see both of them on the pitch and they had a chance to impress Tim and show what their game and personality is about.
“Hopefully they’ve shown enough there for them to be in consideration in the future.”
ON THE ARRIVAL AND DEBUT OF RHYS SHARP:
“He’s been training with us for a while and it was an opportunity to get him on a short-term deal to be able to have a look at him in a competitive game.
“He played in a reserve game but depending on the game it is sometimes difficult to gauge whether or not the player has got the qualities you are looking for.
“It was an opportunity tonight to have a look at him in a real competitive game.
“It is clear that he ran out of steam, which is to be expected, but time will tell whether or not he gets the opportunity to get to the fitness level that is required.
“If the performance levels go in hand in hand then we will see.”
ON JAKE EVANS:
“I saw a lot from Jake and he had real personality to play in a position he’s not really played in before and to then really play his way into the game and show so much confidence and maturity.
“I’m very pleased for him and very impressed with his performance.”
ON ELLIS IANDOLO’S FIRST GOAL FOR TOWN:
“It was very stylish and it was a nightmare for the goalkeeper because the ball moved away and he does do that type of thing fairly often, it is just getting the confidence and relaxing and getting the moment to do it.
“That’s the big test and he passed it tonight.”
