Jones has no worries that Hylton will score in the Championship for Luton

Boss thought striker was in fine form during 1-0 win at Hillsborough
Danny Hylton saw this effort against Sheffield Wednesday cleared off the lineDanny Hylton saw this effort against Sheffield Wednesday cleared off the line
Danny Hylton saw this effort against Sheffield Wednesday cleared off the line

Luton boss Nathan Jones remains unwavering in his belief that striker Danny Hylton will end his long wait for a goal this term.

The 31-year-old hasn’t netted for over 18 months, since scoring on March 23, 2019 in a 4-0 League One win over Doncaster Rovers.

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He missed the first half of last season through injury, before returning under previous manager Graeme Jones where he was barely used.

The forward has played 17 times in the Championship now, although six of those were under eight minute cameos, coming off the bench in the latter stages of games.

Saturday saw him begin a third match in succession, his fifth start in total since returning to full fitness and he was inches away from ending his drought inside just 30 seconds, rounding Sheffield Wednesday keeper Cameron Dawson only to see his effort cleared off the line by Aden Flint.

Hylton went on to look threatening all afternoon during the 1-0 victory for the visitors, producing easily his best display of the campaign to date, as Jones said: “Hylton led the line magnificently, and I know we had a thing about keyboard warriors, but people forget where we are.

“Let's not make a big thing of it, he will score.

Aden Flint heads Danny Hylton's shot off the lineAden Flint heads Danny Hylton's shot off the line
Aden Flint heads Danny Hylton's shot off the line
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“He’s a centre forward and if I played up top for 30, 40 games, I’d probably get in a position to score a goal, so he will score, but I’m not concerned about that, as long as someone scores.

“What I’m concerned about is, is he leading the line? Is he grafting? Is he doing his job?

“He does that for me and he’s always done that for me.

“People make a big thing of it, but people tend to forget where we are and where we've come from as we've been meteoric in our rise from League Two to Championship.

“We’ve got 12 points, on the same points as people like Blackburn and Bournemouth and these have got 20s and 40s and 50 million pound budgets.

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“I’m not sure Luton’s ever had a budget like that, even when they were in the top, top division, so lets realise where we are.

“Danny Hylton and not just Danny Hylton, but all our players have put their bodies on their line for this club since they've come here, so let's give them a bit of credit.”

With 58 goals in 137 outings, Hylton is one of 10 Luton players in the squad who have reached their century of appearances, as he was joined by the latest member, Sonny Bradley, on Saturday.

Of the 10, only two, Dan Potts and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu have not been signed by Jones, who added: “We’ve talked about the amount of players who have played 100 games for us, that’s legacies that is.

“It's not people chipping in and out, it’s 10 who have played 100 games and that shows that we’ve got real good continuity, and I’m proud of that.”