Luton manager Mick Harford has praised striker Sam Parkin after his hit-and-miss display at Gillingham and believes he can only improve.Parkin netted with a long-range headed effort to put the Hatters ahead at Priestfield but squandered a host of other chances as the Hatters surrendered their lead before losing 2-1.

But Harford insists that Parkin - whose Luton career has been decimated by injury - showed the character to succeed.

He said: "All credit to Sam, he keeps getting in there and he's getting fitter and stronger.

"The lad has been out for 18 months and he's come back and is just getting his sharpness back.

"Sam has got one hell of a goalscoring record and all I encourage him to do is get in the box, and he scored a great goal. On another night he could have got two or three."

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