Hatters boss reveals why he headed into the stands to celebrate Forest win with his family

Hatters boss Nathan Jones was eager to celebrate Good Friday’s memorable 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest with the people he cares about most following a Pat Cash style climb into the directors box after the game.

On completion of his post match Sky interview on the Kenilworth Road playing surface in front of a number of fans who had remained inside the ground, Jones then took off into the crowd, in scenes not quite reminiscent of the Wimbledon tennis champion in 1987 but close enough, for those who can remember, to see his wife Laurie and daughter too.

When discussing it afterwards, he said: “To see moments like that, my wife’s here all the time, she comes here all the games.

"I had family here, my mother in law and brother in law, but my little one I want to look back in years to come with photos of big wins and remember it, remember it with the people I care about and those are the people I care about.

“She was asleep for most of it which is the only time she ever sleeps!

“We should actually record the crowd and play it at night as she doesn’t sleep at night, but these are special things and they sacrifice so much for me.

“My little one doesn’t see me as much as she sees my wife for example.

"My wife has to put up with stuff, my wife gets up in the middle of the night as she knows I need my sleep and all these sacrificial things that they do then I want to make sure they know that I appreciate that.”

Jones also appreciated the terrific atmosphere created by the 9,000 Luton fans who were in attendance from start to finish, as they ensured Kenilworth Road was a boisterous place to be all afternoon, the players clearly responding to the home support with a magnificent display against their in-form opponents.

He continued: “To be fair, we made a big thing of it before the game and said, ‘they’ll be with us from the start, so how do you keep with them?’

"You’ve got to keep being us, keep being front-footed, keep doing stuff quick, got to put stuff in the box, got to press, got to give something to behind and they did, and what an atmosphere.

"These are the games we wanted, these are the games we’ve had probably six months after our time here, we started to build momentum and what an afternoon.”

Defender turned midfielder Kal Naismith, who sealed the three points from the penalty spot in the 37th minute, was another given a wonderful ovation when completing his Sky duties as well.

It’s becoming a regular occurrence for the Scot, who had bagged the last-gasp winner against Bournemouth earlier in the season during another game that been played out in front of the TV cameras.

He added: “It’s unbelievable, it’s stuff I’ll remember when I retire, especially the Bournemouth game, I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

"The reception from the fans, that was special as well, seeing everyone happy, the sun was out, just a good day, an amazing day.

"I’ll remember it all when I’m done, but there’s no time to be sentimental.

"I’ve got an amazing relationship with the fans and long may it continue, so hopefully as a team we can reward them this year.”