Interview: Luton Town winger Danny Green

Despite having 12 months left to run on his contract, MK Dons and Danny Green reached an agreement in July for the winger to be released early.

The 27-year-old has since signed a two-year deal with Luton Town, which means that instead of having a Championship campaign ahead of him with the Dons, Green is preparing for an assault on League Two under a manager that he knows well.

Here, Sports Mole spoke with the former Dagenham & Redbridge and Charlton Athletic player to find out why the time was right for him to leave MK Dons, as well as having looked ahead to an anticipated promotion push with the Hatters.

You probably did not feature as much as you would have liked last season, but why leave MK Dons at what is an exciting time for the club?

"Karl Robinson (manager) was really good to me. The first day of pre-season, he told me that he was going to be bringing in a few more wingers. Towards the end of last season, appearances for me were a bit limited anyway, so he told me that I could look for other options. He wanted me to get back playing regular football and get back to the level that I know I can. He treated me well and we worked it out."

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Is there a sense of frustration that instead of showing what you can do in the Championship, you've dropped down a couple of levels?

"A little bit because I feel like I'm good enough to play at that level, but sometimes you have to take a couple of steps back to move forward. Hopefully I can get back to that level with Luton. We've got a good squad, so hopefully we can push on."

Why Luton? Did your previous time of working with manager John Still have anything to do with it?

"I had a few other offers - particularly from League One clubs. But, I know John Still - I worked with him before at Dagenham & Redbridge. He basically saved my career when he signed me for Dagenham and from there I got my move to Charlton. I feel that I can enjoy my football under him and it's great to be playing for people that know my game best."

Would it be fair to suggest that he is perhaps the reason why you're a professional footballer now?

"I was looking at doing something completely different. I was playing non-league football and working part-time as well. When the chance came to sign for Dagenham, it was just an unbelievable opportunity. I never thought it would happen. I owe him a lot and probably my career at the moment. I wanted to come here to help him and Luton get promotion."

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A lot of new players have arrived at Luton this summer, but that does not always guarantee success. Are you confident that the squad will gel?

"We've signed some good players like Josh McQuoid from Bournemouth and there's some good young players as well. Hopefully with one or two more additions, we'll be ready for the season. Looking at training, there is enough quality to get out of this division. I've been promoted from it before with Dagenham and this is a better squad. At Dagenham, we used virtually the same players every weekend because it wasn't a big squad, but we have that here. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll get promoted because you also need to work extremely hard."

You are somewhat of a lucky omen aren't you? After all, you have achieved promotion with each of your last three clubs.

"I got promotion with Dagenham, Charlton and MK Dons, so I've been lucky with that. Hopefully I can bring some of that experience. I know what it takes to win leagues and matches, so I'll try to pass that on to the younger players. You need players that have won things in their careers - that helps a lot."

What does it take to win leagues? And are you confident that the Luton squad possesses it?

"You need a mixture of youth and experience for sure. The players also need to not necessarily all get on, but they do need to understand each other. The three teams I've been promoted with, you'd have done anything for those lads in the team at the time - you'd run through brick walls for each other. Hopefully we've got that at Luton because there is a good vibe around the club."