Hart believes Hatters can take great confidence from beating Championship leaders Bournemouth

Luton first team coach Paul Hart believes the Hatters can draw great confidence in taking on a top team and beating them after Saturday's terrific 3-2 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday.

Town have had a number of plucky efforts when facing the best sides in the league so far this season, going down 3-2 at West Bromwich Albion earlier in the campaign and also losing 2-1 in the reverse match with the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium.

They also had the better of things during the 1-1 draw with Fulham before Christmas, but on a day that will remain etched in the memory of those who were on Saturday, this time they actually came out on top, Kal Naismith's stoppage time strike ensuring the hosts picked up a famous triumph.

Hart said: “In a lot of the games where we’ve come out on the wrong side, we can say and maybe bar two, that we’ve been in the game.

"At Bournemouth away, West Brom, we were in the game all the time.

"For a side like us who have an extremely low budget compared to other teams, we've got a great spirit and we’ve got players who are improving week by week.

"You can see the improvement with your own eyes and like the manager always says in his presentation to players when signing them 'we will develop you' and I think we do.

"I think the evidence is there, we like to win and we want to win, but we’re also making young players better we think.

"We have done really well against the top teams this year.

"I think it’s fair to say that we’re not resting on our laurels, we’ve enjoyed the win and we need to get back down to basics and try and perform again.

"Whilst we have enjoyed beating a top team, we know that we still have a way to go."

When Naismith’s shot hit the net to blow the roof off Kenilworth Road, manager Nathan Jones took off down the touchline, bringing out not one, but two knee slides.

He claimed afterwards to have injured himself in the act, and when asked if he had fancied unveiling one himself, Hart said: “If I had joined him, number one I would have dug two trenches and number two, I wouldn’t have got up again!

"How he does that I don’t know but I guarantee he wasn’t wearing his Armani trousers when he did it.

“He did his hamstring on the second one, fortunately he hasn’t recovered so he’s out of the five a side games."

The goal was yet another late one for the Hatters this term, as they have now scored six goals in the 90th minute onwards.

Hard believes it shows the spirit and resolve is high within the squad, adding: "You don’t want to go two nil up and two down, or three nil up and three down like we did against Swansea very often.

"But if we do, to come back at the last-gasp, bearing in mind we’ve only had one game prior to that in over a month, I just think that’s courage and strength of character, and a wonderful environment when the players enjoy coming to work.

"I’m a bit biased, but it’s not an easy place to be, it’s challenging, and we ask questions of our players, but they respond."