Jones hints that Luton striker Hylton could have a far greater role during survival battle

Hatters attacker Danny Hylton could find himself playing a far greater role in Town’s bid to stay in the Championship this season, now that manager Nathan Jones has returned to the club.

The 31-year-old, who missed a large chunk of the campaign due to a knee injury, was hardly used when fit by previous boss Graeme Jones, earning just two brief cameos from the bench.

However, during Nathan Jones’ first spell in charge, Hylton was a regular up front, scoring over 50 goals for Luton and when asked if he could feature more during the final nine games, Jones said: “One hundred per cent. I think Danny has never spent too long out of the team when I’ve been here, obviously injury would have dictated a few things.

“The thing with Danny is that he’s all in every day and that’s why he picks up certain things because Danny’s life depends on every training session and that’s how he lives it.

“I could tell you a story about how you’ve seen him in the park with his kids, he’s exactly the same!

“But it’s not just about Danny, it’s about everyone.

“Everyone is going to need to chip in because we’ve got a squad of around about 23 outfield players.

"Nine games in 34, 35 days it’s going to be impossible for many to play a full nine games and it’s how you utilise, how you make changes, how you do all of those things are going to be key, not just what 11 can do.”

When Jones had Hylton under his tutelage during his first spell, he often referred to him as the ‘best striker in League Two’, although at times got infuriated with the forward’s inability to stay out of the referee’s notebook too.

On reuniting with the striker he signed from Oxford, Jones continued: “I’ve enjoyed working with them all, I know what I get from this group and it seems strange because obviously I was the one that left but I loved this group, every day I loved my job.

“I came in, I was excited to work, I pushed them every day and they responded.

“It’s the same with all of them, Danny was one of the real catalysts as to why we did well here, but I’ve got a squad full of them.,

"Everyone pushed the boundaries, everyone wanted to get better.

“Everyone improved, everyone went through the roof and that’s the same here now.

"I’ve got that good group, it’s a great atmosphere and that’s the trouble in these times because we have to isolate, we have to socially distance and this is a social group.

"This is a group that wants to be together, that wants to be around each other and that has been the biggest challenge.”

It’s not just Hylton from the current squad that Jones brought to Kenilworth Road, as the Welshman signed whole host of the players he has come back to during his three years as manager.

If that had helped get his message across to those who didn't know his training methods during the short three week build-up to the season restarting once more, Jones said: “I hope so, but I haven’t come in speaking a foreign language.

"We work hard, we're disciplined, we’re respectful, we turn up on time, we have a certain way of playing, a certain way of action and those principles pretty much 75 per cent of the club knew anyway.

"One or two I’ve worked with also knew that but it’s a good standard, it’s a good group here, no disciplinary problems whatsoever or anyone that doesn’t want to give everything.

"One or two different characters that you have to manage but the nucleus and the bond is the same.”

“I’ve had a wonderful response too.

"I’m very close to a lot of them and for those who I don’t know, it’s a fresh start for those.

"People like Izzy Brown, Martin Cranie, Cameron (Carter) Vickers, I know very well, and then there’s only probably four or five that I haven’t worked with.,

"The other group I know and I’m very, very close to that group, it was a bond that was really strong, so I know what I'm going to get from those.”

Finally, the likes of Harry Cornick and Matty Pearson blossomed even further during Graeme Jones’ reign making real strides in the second tier.

When questioned if had noticed any significant improvements in the squad since last taking charge, Jones added: “I spoke to one or two of them because what I think they’ve done is, I think they’re playing the same.

“Take someone like Harry Cornick for example, Harry is doing exactly the same in the Championship as he was in League Two and whether he’s got better is another thing, but he’s just adapted to the level.

“That’s why we signed certain players and we had the group that we did.

"They had to be a chameleon when they got to the level, they had to adapt to it quickly.

"We signed players that we felt could do that and they haven’t look out of place at this level.

"At the minute, they haven’t picked up the results that they needed for whatever reason.

"They would have a bit of bad luck, few things happening in games so that’s the important thing, they've adapted to the level.

"You don’t look at a player and think he's totally at this level, you don’t do that, so that’s a good thing.

"The majority if not all of the squad were here two years ago in League Two so the fact they can compete at Championship level shows that we did well back then.”