What a marvellous season it was for Luton Town last term, having won the League One title by 12 points and falling just two points short of the 100-point barrier. The fact that six members of the Hatters' squad were named in the divisional 'Team of the Year' was testimony to the club's triumphant campaign and manager Mike Newell will now be relishing the challenge of life in the Championship. One of the real stars for Luton last season was striker Steve Howard, who scored 22 goals, and the Kenilworth Road faithful will no doubt be keeping their fingers crossed that the out of contract 29-year-old is still at the club come the big kick-off. Givemefootball's Mark Shail reports.
Q:HAVE YOU BEEN AWAY THIS SUMMER?
A:Yes, I've been to Florida, where I have just bought a property, and I'm just about to go to Marbella on a stag trip, then I'm going back to Florida again before returning for pre-season training.
Q:LOOKING BACK AT LAST SEASON, YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED WITH THE CLUB'S SUCCESS?
A:We were all over the moon. We had a great start, where we won the first six or seven games, but then had a bad run around Christmas time, losing three games in a week, and a lot of people thought the bubble had burst. But we re-grouped, pulled ourselves together and in the end we romped away with it.
Q:WERE YOU SURPRISED BY HOW EASY IT WAS FOR YOU IN THE END?
A:I always thought we had a great chance of getting into the top six at least, but the start we had gave us a lot of confidence and once you get into that winning mode it's a great habit to be in. It's a great feeling when you get the papers every Sunday morning and see your club sitting at the top of the league.
Q:AND 22 GOALS FOR YOU, YOU MUST BE PLEASED WITH THAT RETURN?
A:You've got to be happy with that, although it's not my best-ever season because I've scored 24 once before. The good thing about last season was that we were getting goals from all over the pitch and that takes the pressure off the strikers to score every week. We had a couple of midfield players who got into double figures and that always helps. The fact that we scored 87 goals in the season demonstrates how many chances we were creating.
Q:I LAST SAW YOU AT THE PFA AWARDS DINNER, YOU MUST HAVE BEEN PROUD TO BE NAMED IN THE TEAM OF THE YEAR ALONG WITH SIX OF YOUR TEAMMATES?
A:It was a wonderful night, especially as so many of us got into the team. We always said that if one player got into the side we would all go and that's what happened, even the gaffer came as well, which was great.
Q:YOU'RE CURRENTLY OUT OF CONTRACT, IS IT FAIR TO SAY THERE ARE SOME BIG DECISIONS LOOMING IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS?
A:At the moment I'm talking to Luton about extending my stay here because I've been very happy with the way things have gone. But there are five or six other interested parties so we'll just have to wait and see. Like every player, I'd like to play as high as I can.
Q:ARE THERE GOOD TIMES AND BAD TIMES FOR A PLAYER TO BE OUT OF CONTRACT?
A:Most definitely. I'm fortunate that I'm out of contract at a time when the team has been successful and I've had a good season personally. Had I got injured, or been out of form, it could have been a totally different story.
