Jones not looking to change too much in a bid to end 'worst run' as Luton manager

Town are six without a win in the Championship
Luton boss Nathan Jones - pic: Gareth OwenLuton boss Nathan Jones - pic: Gareth Owen
Luton boss Nathan Jones - pic: Gareth Owen

Luton boss Nathan Jones is determined for the Hatters to end his worst run as Town manager with victory over Coventry City tonight.

Saturday’s 2-1 reverse at Bournemouth means that Luton have now gone six games without winning, although four of them have finished all square, while they were also 3-0 up against Swansea recently, conceding a stoppage time equaliser.

Twice before has Jones gone five games without a triumph, both times in League Two during March 2017 and then between February and March 2018, so he’s eager to end the unwanted sequence this evening, saying: “It is weird and very difficult because it is probably the worst run I’ve had as Luton manager without a win.

“We have to do the basics better, we have to keep clean-sheets because then we don’t lose the game.

“We have been in good form, for large parts of game we have been really front footed and quite dominant, but it is the Championship and it can punish you out of nothing.

“We haven’t got to change masses of amounts, but we have to start picking up results.

“We have two home games now that we really want to take advantage of and that is what it is about.

“If we were a really poor side and getting beaten, then we would have to change certain things but we’re not.

“We’re an aggressive side, front-footed side, we understand we have gone through a tough time in terms of results and injuries but we’re coming through that now and as I said, it is a big week for us.”

Although only taking four points out of a possible 18, Jones is determined not to change too much with the Sky Blues and then Huddersfield Town, who have ex-Hatter Matty Pearson in their ranks, visiting Kenilworth Road in the next few days.

He continued: “There is a process here, we have a way of doing stuff.

“We cant keep saying it, but we should have beaten Bristol City and we should have beaten Swansea City, we have had enough chances to win a lot of games.

“There are sides in this division in good form that haven’t created what we have, not like we are, so we just have to keep going and keep believing in what we do.

“Sides have ups and downs but if we start panicking and changing then we are going away from process.

“If we don’t pick up results then we have to go back to basics and back to post-covid times and we need points but at the minute we are in good form, it is just certain things we have to tweak.

"Certain individual stuff, collective stuff, and we will do that.”

One thing that Jones wants to improve is his side's ability to defend their box, especially as he looks to going into matches with an even more positive approach this term following his dealing in the transfer window over the summer.

He added: "We want to evolve.

"Post-Covid we knew we had to get results to stay in games and nick results, we did that and got 16 points to preserve our (Championship) status.

"Last year we were evolving slightly in terms of a little bit more possession, a little bit of a higher press and we were an aggressive side last year.

"Now we have recruited to be really aggressive and front-footed in what we do, and that is what we’re turning into.

"To do that, we need everyone fit because it takes its toll sometimes and then we have to tweak certain things.

"But I’ve been happy with our aggression, our front-footedness and what we have created because we are a really positive Championship side.

"It is just when you do that, you sometimes leave yourself open and that is when we have to defend slightly better, defend our box better and that is probably what the big thing is.

"If we do that then if we’re in games towards the 60/70 minute stage, we know we have real energy to maintain it."