Jones explains reasons behind dropping Butterfield and Brown at Rams

Hatters boss Graeme Jones explained that concerns with the physical state of both Izzy Brown and Jacob Butterfield was one of the main reasons why he opted to change his side against Derby County on Saturday.
Izzy Brown came off the bench in the second half at Derby on SaturdayIzzy Brown came off the bench in the second half at Derby on Saturday
Izzy Brown came off the bench in the second half at Derby on Saturday

The Luton chief brought in Andrew Shinnie and Wednesday’s goalscoring hero Callum McManaman to face the Rams, with Brown coming off the bench in the second half, although Butterfield didn’t get on to play at his former club.

A pair of Simon Sluga errors saw the Rams triumph 2-0 on the day, as Jones said: “I just wanted to freshen things up a little bit in those areas.

"Obviously Callum had earned the right, he came on and affected the game (against Millwall) and scored, and Shins was available again.

"I’ve got a lot of trust in Andrew Shinnie, I thought today would be a tactical game which suits Andrew, but on top of that, Izzy Brown and Jacob, I was concerned about physically.

"I think Izzy hasn't played three games in seven days for two years, so the experience has to count for something, the physical stats and detail has to count for something.

"That was the reason for those changes, I just wanted to get to 60 minutes in the game and be in it.

"That was the plan and it worked, we were in the game, we got that fresh impetus with Kaz (Kazenga LuaLua) and Izzy, but sadly they weren’t in a position to get us anything positive from the game.”