Jones fully fit but Bloomfield could consider a change in Hatters' formation at Derby
Luton chief has been operating with a 3-5-2 system recently
Hatters wingback Izzy Jones has been declared fully fit for this afternoon’s trip to Derby County, although boss Matt Bloomfield admitted he is considering changing formation for the contest at Pride Park.
The 25-year-old started last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers despite being ill in the build-up to the fixture, as clearly struggling to make an impact in the match, played just under an hour before he was taken off, Reece Burke coming on in his place. Asked if he was back to full health for what is an absolutely crucial 90 minutes against one of Luton’s main relegation rivals, Bloomfield said: “He’s recovered. It was tough for him last week and fair play to Iz to go out and play.
"He hadn’t eaten for two days, he had a little bit before the game, but he hadn’t eaten for two days previously and hadn’t trained in between Stoke and Saturday. We had a big decision to make, do you start with Burkey or somebody else, and then bring Izzy on? But we wanted to attack from the outlet, so it felt like the right thing.
"If Izzy then comes on as sub and hasn't got a run in him, you've then got to make two substitutions so the right thing was to just let him go as long as he did and he ran as long as he could for us. It was unfortunate for us that we had to make a change when we’d gone 1-0 down and you’re bringing on a defender for an attacker, that’s far from ideal in my mind, but it’s the situation we’re at right now. Having already used Milli (Alli) and having already used Chongy (Tahith Chong), you’re running out of options.”
Jones has been operating in the right wingback role ever since Bloomfield reverted to a 3-5-2 system in recent weeks, which had Alfie Doughty on the opposite flank. However, with the ex-Charlton and Cardiff player now out for the season, it meant Alli took over that role against Rovers after impressing and scoring in the 1-1 draw with Stoke City City previously.
However, the decision saw Bloomfield state Town ran out of attackers in the second period when trying to bolster their front-line in the search for an equaliser, and asked if there had been a thought about altering how his side line up against the Rams to help get the best out of Alli should he start, Bloomfield continued: “Yes, there has been and I think there has been a good discussion around that, how we could utilise both formations.
"We’ve discussed before about Alfie Doughty being one of the key players in the 3-5-2, and him not being available, Eli (Elijah Adebayo) as well, so there’s that to consider but also that we’re in a quick run of games, and we need to make sure that we’re tactically aware and tactically astute for each game that we play.
“At Stoke, I think he (Alli) was our best attacking outlet. He thrives in one on one situations and as a wingback he’s obviously got his defensive responsibilities as well, I understand that. When we brought him into the football club we were trying to play 4-2-3-1 at that moment, and we felt as a wide left that was his natural position or his best position in my mind. He can utilise different roles as well, and we have to be aware of each game tactically and what our opposition are going to bring as well.”
Although midfielder Shandon Baptiste is back in training following his calf injury, he won’t be ready to feature against Derby, but might be an option when Town host Bristol City in a few days time, as Bloomfield added: “Shandon’s been on the grass the last couple of days but the game has come too soon for him. The length of time he’s been out and the amount of training he’s had, it’s come too soon for him. It’s possible he’ll be involved on Monday, or the last few weeks of the season, but we’ve got to make sure we give him a training load behind him to get back out on the pitch. Apart from that I believe it’s as we were.”