Carlton Morris sends Luton Town supporters clear message amid relegation fears | OneFootball

Luton Town skipper Carlton Morris has urged Hatters supporters not to give up amid their battle against relegation

Luton Town captain Carlton Morris has urged Hatters supporters not to give up on supporting their team amid their fight to avoid relegation from the Championship.

Despite suffering relegation from the Premier League just last season, the Bedfordshire club currently find themselves staring down the barrel at an unwanted League One return.

Last Sunday's 2-0 defeat to bitter rivals Watford left the Hatters bottom of the Championship table and five points adrift of safety with only 12 games left to play, while their last victory came all the way back in December, when they beat Derby County 2-1 at Kenilworth Road.

On Saturday afternoon, Matt Bloomfield's men host a Portsmouth side who have been in resurgent form of late, but still sit within the lower echelons of the table, albeit nine points clear of the drop zone.

It could be vital for the Hatters' survival chances that they manage to claim all three points against Pompey, as their next fixture after that clash sees them travel to automatic promotion challengers Burnley.

Carlton Morris urges Luton Town supporters not to give up in relegation fight

The Hatters striker addressed supporters via Luton Today: "Never give up, never give up supporting us.

"We’re a football club, we’re all in this together.

"When we’ve had the success we’ve all been together.

"Now we’re in the difficult stage, we all stick together.

"It doesn't mean we're going to stop, doesn’t mean we're going to lie down at any point ever and stop working to put this right, because the players deserve better, the staff deserve better, the fans especially deserve better than what we're giving them.

"This one game (defeat at Watford) doesn’t define our season.

"It's not the way that dressing room is.

"We're not going to stop, not going to lie down.

"I’m already looking forward to focusing on the next game, working diligently and so hard this week to make sure that’s a positive result."

Morris was frustrated by Luton defeat at Watford

The Hatters skipper said: "It’s a really frustrating result for the lads to take.

"We’re in a difficult moment at the minute, there’s no disputing that, but it’s how we get back and react.

"It’s not how many times you get beaten down, it’s how you get up and how you react as a football club and as a human being.

"That will be the message to the boys.

"We’re not going to give up without a fight, we’re going to hop straight back on our feet and concentrate on the next game."

March fixtures could be vital for Luton Town's survival chances

In any case, the Hatters have just 12 games left to play as they look to retain their Championship status, and the second-tier season has very much reached its business end.

But the Kenilworth Road faithful may point to March as the month when their chances of avoiding back-to-back relegations will become much clearer.

In April and May, the Hatters face some daunting tasks, such as a clash with league leaders Leeds United as well as encounters with the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City, Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion, who will all fancy their chances of finishing in the play-offs.

But in March, Bloomfield's men face relegation rivals Portsmouth, Cardiff City and Hull City as well as a Middlesbrough outfit who have struggled for consistency of late.

Failure to achieve a healthy points return from those outings could prove detrimental to the Hatters' Championship status, but as alluded to by Morris, supporters must not give up hope.