Hatters boss insists Rovers' stalemate shows Town can 'mix it' in the Championship

Reaction from Nathan Jones to weekend draw
Town chief Nathan JonesTown chief Nathan Jones
Town chief Nathan Jones

Luton’s battling display during their stalemate against promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers on Saturday has shown Town can mix it up in the Championship this term, according to boss Nathan Jones.

Although the goalless draw was never a contest for free-flowing football, there was plenty to admire about the manner in which the Hatters dug in and defended their box, the back three of Tom Lockyer, Gabe Osho and Kal Naismith all excelling.

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They were backed up by tigerish displays from Henri Lansbury and Allan Campbell in midfield, as Luton restricted the second top scorers in the division to just two shots on target, both of them not seriously testing keeper James Shea.

Speaking about his side’s performance, Jones said: “It shows we can mix it, it shows we have a number of strings to our bow, because you have to be able to mix it at this level.

“If you’re just a footballing side you get unstuck, if you’re just a physical side, again people will play round you.

“But we’ve shown when we play against real good sides like Fulham and Bournemouth, we can press, we can be organised and we can play like they can.

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“Then when we have to mix it and these have the least possession in the league but are very physical, we’ve shown we can out physical teams like this and that’s what we wanted to do.

“So we’re now establishing ourselves as a real solid Championship side that’s one, difficult to beat, but two, can cause you problems because we’ve tried to win every game.

“We don’t sit back and get two banks of four and low block and say ‘come and break us down,’ we say ‘no, we’re going to have a right go,’ and that’s what we do.

"I’m very proud of that as it’s a tough, tough league, it really is."

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Despite Rovers being in the mix to go up without needing the play-offs this term, there was little to choose between both sides at the weekend, which was another feather in the cap for Jones.

He added: "Absolutely, there’s not much difference between us and Blackburn, there hasn’t been in recent seasons.

"Last year we finished above them, when I came back, we beat them here to stay up, so it shows we can compete with these sides.

"It’s just about consistency, now what the top, top sides have, they have players who can just turn a game on its head.

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"(Aleksander) Mitrovic will score week in week out in the Championship and that's what he gives you, Bournemouth are the same.

"The others who are a bit more mortal if you like, we have to grind out results.

"We have to make sure that we’re at it week in week out, we’re bottom three, bottom four budget, but the work we do, and how we do it and the squad we have.

"We’re very proud of the way that we can compete, and that goes to show that we’re in a wonderful place, so anything’s possible, but we know there’s a long way to go.

"You have to be consistent at this level as you have to try and win or get points from games like that, where you don’t particularly play well and that’s what we’re doing at the minute."