Forest boss Hughton unsurprised by Luton's fine start under 'excellent' Jones

Nottingham Forest manager Chris Hughton hasn't been at all surprised by Luton's impressive start to their second season in the Championship.

Town stayed up last term on the final day of the campaign, beating Blackburn Rovers 3-2 at Kenilworth Road to complete an escape from relegation that hadn't looked likely a few months previously.

The Hatters picked up 16 points from a possible 27 under boss Nathan Jones, who returned to the club during lockdown, and is well known to Hughton following their time together at Brighton & Hove Albion when the Town chief was assistant manager and first team coach.

Luton have continued that fine form this term, with four wins from seven, while Forest had been struggling badly, losing their opening five fixtures, until Hughton took over earlier this month to steady the ship, with one draw and two wins so far.

Speaking to the Reds' official website, Hughton said: "I know Nathan very well from my time at Brighton.

"He was an excellent coach then and he has gone on to be an excellent manager having had two really good spells at Luton.

"Their start to the season has been no surprise to me because they finished last season very strongly and did very well to stay in the division.

"Nathan is a very young, bright manager who has got a very good future in the game.

"It is a unique environment at Kenilworth Road and it is a club and a stadium that I know very well having been to watch lots of games there over the years.

"What Luton have done over the years, as most clubs do, is use any advantage that they can get from their stadium.

"For us it is about turning around our first and second-half fortunes.

"We've finished strong in games which is good but starting games better is one area that we need to address.

"We need to continue to make sure that we're in every game to give ourselves the best possible chance of securing a positive result."