Luton boss believes Carabao Cup display against United shows his Hatters side are in a good place

Luton chief Nathan Jones hailed his side for the manner in which they pushed Premier League Manchester United all the way in their Carabao Cup third round tie on Tuesday night.

The Hatters were in the game for long periods, trailing just 1-0 to Juan Mata's penalty going into the final 10 minutes.

Defender Tom Lockyer then saw his header excellently saved by visiting stopper Dean Henderson, with the follow up cleared off the line by Eric Bailly.

Moments later, the Red Devils put the tie to bed, with substitutes Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood on target, but Jones, who made nine changes for the clash, said: “A lot of these have never played Championship football, they’ve never come up against Manchester United.

"I was going to make even more changes in terms of the bench but they actually wanted the opportunity because hopefully it’s not, but it could be the only chance they get to play against Man U.

“So it was a good occasion for us and a great test and what we love doing at this club is testing ourselves against different opposition.

“When we were League Two going up against Newcastle and having a right go, we’ve had a right go tonight against a top four Premier League side, so it shows we’re in a good place.

“It looks like it was a comfortable win, but it was anything but.

After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side had the better of the early stages, Town then gained a foothold around the 20-minute mark and went on to edge proceedings up until the break.

An even contest ensued following the interval, until the late arrivals swung the contest in United's favour, but Jones felt he and his side could hold their heads high.

He added: "We did grew into the game, but sometimes you’re feeling them out as these are top players, they handle the ball well.

"But once the confidence grew, I was very proud of them and I thought structurally we were good.

"The big thing is we made nine changes, we probably have one of the lowest budgets in the Championship, but to make nine changes and still be competitive and to show that the work that we do is coming to fruition.

"As we won’t get the test of Man U week in week out, so we showed we’re in a good place, and that's the thing to take from tonight.

"We’ve had a little foray in the cup, it’s a big distraction for us because of where we want to finish in the league, so we’ve had a lovely game, we’re happy, and now it’s back to the league.”