Luton boss ready to go up against Birmingham manager Aitor Karanka

Luton chief Nathan Jones knows that he will be up against a formidable opponent in the dug-out this evening, Birmingham City manager Aitor Karanka.

The 47-year-old Spaniard had a stellar playing career, with spells at Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, representing his country at U21 and U23 level, plus winning a senior cap as well.

He had a stint in charge of the Spain U16s when retiring, before returning to the Bernabéu as number two to Jose Mourinho in June 2010, eventually heading to England for his first solo job at Middlesbrough in 2013, leading the side to the Premier League, until he was sacked in 2017.

Karanka then headed to Nottingham Forest for a year, named Birmingham chief in July following 18 months out of the game.

Jones said: “He knows how to win a game, he had a fantastic Middlesbrough team, I came up against them many times at Brighton.

"When he went to Forest, obviously had relative success there but he’s very experienced, he was with Mourinho, a fantastic career, Spanish mentality in terms of how they train, how they do stuff.

"He's a fantastic manager but without being disrespectful to anyone we came up against in League Two and League One, this is part and parcel of going up against teams like Birmingham and managers like Aitor Karanka, because they are very, very good managers.

"He's just started his tenure at Birmingham, it will be a tough game but he knows how to win games at Championship level.

"Here we are learning and establishing ourselves, trying to find ways to be really competitive at this level.”

Despite their poor start to the campaign, Blues sitting in 17th place with 14 points from 12 games, they are flexing their financial muscle in the transfer market, signing former Barcelona and AC Milan wonderkid Alen Haliloviclsinv this week, although he didn't arrive in time to face Luton.

Karanka has also added a host of big names at this level since joining, with George Friend, Jonathan Leko, Adam Clayton and Neil Etheridge to name just four snapped up in the summer.

The manager also went abroad to persuade Ivan Sanchez, Andres and Mikel San Jose to take up residence at St Andrews, as Jones added: "They were a Premier League club.

"Again, another club with a massive budget and expectation, so it’s a tough, tough game.

"They have to come here and prove that they’re better than us, that’s something we’re relishing and looking forward to.

“It’s a massive club in terms of structure and stature and I remember Birmingham when I was growing up and Mick (Harford, assistant boss) played for them.

"So they’re a massive club and, again, another fantastic test for us.”