Jones labels West Brom win as 'massive' as Luton climb above top six rivals

Town boss Nathan Jones labelled his side’s 2-0 win over fellow play-off chasers West Bromwich Albion as a ‘massive’ victory.

Up against a Baggies side who were plying their trade in the top flight last term, and harbour ambitions of returning there in May, Hatters showed they too must be considered genuine top six candidates thanks to excellent second half goals from Cameron Jerome and Allan Campbell.

On the three points, Jones said: “It’s massive, one to be competing with sides like this shows that we’ve come a long way, two, I think if we’d have drawn the game, our fans would have gone away disappointed and that shows the level of expectation now that’s here and justified.

"These are good side and these will be in the mix, so to beat them and to go above them, to be more than competing with them shows that we're in a good place.

"Resources-wise we can’t, but work and commitment and what we do, then we can."

The Baggies came to Kenilworth Road hoping to end a run of four games without a win and also finally stop a goal drought on their travels which had stretched back to early December.

Under newly appointed manager Steve Bruce, they changed their formation going into the game, moving away from what Jones had expected to face, but matching up with them was never in his mind.

Sticking to their guns, Luton almost came a cropper in the first half, Karlan Grant’s shot squirming through league debutante Jed Steer and behind, before Kal Naismith’s ill-judged pass across his own area saw Grant dink against the bar, Steer denying Andy Carroll’s follow-up.

After Jerome hit the post just before the break, in the second period, the Hatters came on strong, Jerome powering his header from Naismith's free kick into the net on 55 minutes, before Campbell slammed home from 25 yards with six to go.

Carroll was denied by the bar once more late on, as on the decision to remain with his original gameplan, Jones added: “They changed in terms of they’ve normally been 4-3-3, they changed to a back five, that’s their prerogative.

“We prepared for a 4-3-3, but we know how to play against a back five as lots of them play against back fives, so we knew how to press, and we’ve got to point now where it’s not about the opposition it’s about us.

“At times you have to make sure you have to do things, but we concentrate now on us and what we did and what we do in possession and out of possession, how we press, so we concentrate on us really.

"Three points, a clean sheet, they’ve hit the bar twice, but I wouldn’t say we rode our luck as we hit the post and missed a glorious chance in the first half.

“We gifted them a little bit first half but then apart from that, I thought we were excellent.

“We limited them to very little, especially second half and we know we’re a difficult side to play against here.

“If we can really just settle down and get that head of steam then we can create something.

"I thought we did and I’m really happy with both goals.”