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FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
Ed McCambridge

'Kenilworth Road is a tough place to play, it can be intimidating' - Paul Dickov on Luton's secret survival weapon

An aerial picture taken on May 31, 2023 shows Luton Town's Kenilworth Road stadium, in Luton, as members of the ground staff remove the pitch lines and cover the grass during the end of season works. Luton's football team completed a fairytale journey to the Premier League after beating Coventry on penalties in the Championship playoff final at Wembley last week on May 27, 2023. Financial experts estimate promotion to world football's most watched league to be worth around £170 million ($210 million) for a club that have been through turmoil since they last played in the top flight 31 years ago. Luton are the first club to go from the fifth tier to the top flight in the Premier League era.

Many Premier League fans are expecting Luton Town to go down this season. 

The recently-promoted Hatters lost their opening fixture 4-1 at Brighton, and looked hopelessly short of quality against seasoned top-flight opposition. But former Luton hitman Paul Dickov, who spent time on loan at the club from Arsenal in the 1993/94 campaign, believes they have a secret weapon up their sleeve: Kenilworth Road.

"George Graham wanted me to go out on loan and get some first-team football," Dickov tells FourFourTwo on behalf of aGamble. "So I went to Luton and it was an unbelievable experience.

"I learnt a lot from the likes of Kerry Dixon and Mitchell Thomas. They taught me what it takes to be a professional footballer. In terms of the mentality you have to bring to training, the aggression and focus you need on matchdays. Kenilworth Road fed into the mentality around the club."

Explained: the changes Luton Town needed to make at Kenilworth Road to play in the Premier League

Dickov made 15 appearances for the Hatters before returning to Arsenal. But Kenilworth Road left a lasting impression on the young forward, and now he believes the Premier new boys can use its aura to their advantage against the elite. 

"No disrespect to Kenilworth Road, because it's a great stadium, with huge tradition," explains Dickov. "But there will be Premier League players that haven't seen anything like it before. You add that to the incredible atmosphere the Luton fans bring to every game and it's an advantage I think they can use to help them stay up. 

"Some of these top stars will only have seen a stadium like Kenilworth Road when they've played against much smaller sides in the FA Cup or the League Cup. It's a fortress; it can be an intimidating place and if going somewhere like that is not something you're used to it can be tough. I'm sure the Luton coaches and players will be looking to squeeze everything they can out of it this season."

Read more Luton Town stories

Luton Town exited the Football League in 2010 but have since climbed to the Premier League: Five others have dropped never to be seen again

Luton Town and ‘Manager Idol’: Recalling the phone-in competition that let supporters vote for their preferred manager

Luton Town once proposed a 70,000 seater replacement for Kenilworth Road, complete with Formula One track

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