Simon Royce's Admiration for Luton's Mike Newell

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[From a couple of days ago, prior to the cancelled-game at Luton]

Royce rolls back the years - By Tony Stevens. Tuesday, 16 January 2007. FA
Simon Royce is full of admiration for the manager he will be having a reunion with in tonight's FA Cup Third Round replay between Luton and QPR.
The Rangers goalkeeper spent a month on loan at Kenilworth Road in 2004 under the stewardship of Mike Newell, who has since continued to take Luton forward and established them as a Championship club.
And Newell's achievements in Bedfordshire since taking over when the club were in the depths of League One have convinced Royce that the former Blackburn striker can be named among the best young managers in the country.
The former Leicester player said: "Luton is a very close-knit club and the lads are excellent there.
"You always find that at clubs like Luton, and it's similar to QPR because the team spirit's good.
"I would have liked to have spent a little longer there but they only needed me for a couple of games.
"Mike Newell's an excellent young manager. We got on quite well when I was there and I spoke to him at the first game a couple of weeks ago. He's a nice guy and so is his assistant Brian Stein; they work well together.
"You've got Mike and you've got Steve Tilson at Southend, who's doing very well, and with Aidy Boothroyd at Watford, things are looking good on the management side in England."
The original game at Loftus Road ended in a 2-2 draw, and Royce is hopeful QPR can repeat their 3-2 league victory over Luton at Kenilworth Road earlier in the season and book a Fourth Round date at home to Blackburn.
And with Rangers going into the game just four points above the Championship relegation zone, the 35-year-old is pleased to take his mind off league matters for one game at least.
He added: "We only played Luton recently and we had a great result there, just before we went on this poor run we're on at the moment. It will be nice to get away from the league." FA