Hatters boss urges Town's support not to 'falter' during play-off bid

Town boss Nathan Jones has urged the Luton supporters not to ‘falter’ as his side’s quest for a Championship play-off place reaches its most important stage of the season.

Following the international break earlier this month, Luton’s form has dipped ever so slightly since, unable to register a win in three games, picking up just two points.

The bigger picture however is far, far rosier, Monday night’s defeat at Huddersfield the end of a four game unbeaten run, with Town having managed a superb nine wins from 13 league games previously.

It means that with five fixtures left, starting against fellow play-off rivals Nottingham Forest at Kenilworth Road this afternoon, Town sit fifth in the table, knowing a victory would boost their chances of a top six berth immeasurably, leapfrogging their opponents in the process.

With another bumper sell-out crowd in attendance, Jones said: “We’ve given them everything and together we’ve been really good all season.

"Now it’s the final thing, now we can’t falter, now we can’t stutter, now we have to be strong, we have to be together, we have to go out and get the results we need.

"It’s tough, it’s really, really disappointing (losing to Huddersfield), but we’ve got to get over that as there’s still plenty to play for.”

For the second game running Town will be live on Sky as they were earlier in the week at the John Smith’s Stadium.

With opponents Forest not having played since Saturday when they recorded a fifth successive win by beating Birmingham City, Jones added: “It is a quick turnaround, it’s a bit unfortunate as we’ve had all our games switched, we haven’t had a three o’clock kick-off for a while.

"We’ve been on Sky six, seven times, whatever it is, they must like us as it’s an entertaining game.

"It’s good to have them, but when it gets changed, Forest will have a full week to prepare, we’ve only got two days, it’s difficult, it really is and it’s a hindrance.

"But if we were in the bottom or mid-table, we probably wouldn't be on Sky and it wouldn’t be a thing, so the fact we’re in the top six is a big thing.”