Luton chief highlights the importance of Town securing a first Championship victory of the season

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Hatters manager not downplaying Swansea success

Town boss Nathan Jones knew full well just how important it was for the Hatters to pick up a long overdue first win of the season against Swansea City yesterday.

Going into the game, Luton had managed just two draws and two defeats from their first four Championship fixtures, suffering back-to-back losses against Preston North End and Bristol City.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They had also been knocked out of the Carabao Cup too by League Two Newport County, with the winless sequence actually stretching to seven matches if you include both play-off contests against Huddersfield Town last term.

It meant Town headed to Wales sitting second bottom of the table, but soon put that slump to bed with goals in each half from Allan Campbell and Carlton Morris, ensuring the visitors deservedly triumphed 2-0, having kept the Swans at arm’s length for almost all of the encounter.

Speaking afterwards, Jones said: “It’s important, we needed that first win.

“I don’t care who says ‘we’re playing well, we’re doing this,’ we were poor against Bristol City.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I felt we were good against Birmingham and excellent against Burnley, then margins against Preston, could have gone either way, but today we were back at it.

Hatters boss Nathan JonesHatters boss Nathan Jones
Hatters boss Nathan Jones

“It’s really important we got the win, don’t let anyone tell you any different, for everything, because the longer it goes, the more pressure it adds.

“The league evens up, so we’ve still got a real tough month to go, but we’ve got six out, six big players out.

"We’ve got that pace and power now, got a bit more cleverness, got that bit better squad, so when all that comes, things will even up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s important we stayed in the pack and we did that today.”

After a opening 45 minutes Jones had described as ‘unacceptable’ in midweek, Luton were right at it from the first moments at the Liberty Stadium, quietening the home crowd, and moving ahead through Campbell’s effort on 14 minutes.

A defensive masterclass from the entire side, with Dan Potts and Tom Lockyer in particular standing out, meant keeper Ethan Horvath had very little to do, Carlton Morris adding a second with 18 minutes to go, the first time Town had scored twice during a league game for 13 matches.

On how he masterminded such a change in fortunes in such a short space of time, Jones continued: “We just went back to us, that’s all we’ve done, back to us and what we do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We’ve been ingrained in that and have done that for a long, long time, so we just went back to being us.

"We were, aggressive, disciplined and with the players we’ve got, we’re a good side, an excellent side.

"We went away from that Tuesday, got outrun, out-bullied and that doesn’t happen to Luton normally, so we just had to tweak stuff

“I took responsibility, picking the wrong team, today I think I’ve got it spot on with everything I did.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I brought Tom Lockyer back in and felt that he was going to give us something today, wonderful.”

For Jones, a proud Welshmen, he was thrilled to be back in his home country once more, although revealed it hadn’t been in the best of circumstances this time, adding: “I like coming here, it’s a real tough place to come.

"I love coming home, love seeing my family, got to see my family yesterday albeit under tough circumstances, as I want to dedicate that win to a guy called Roger Thomas who passed away.

"I lost my mate about four years ago, Richard Thomas, who was a big Cardiff fan, and we had to bury his dad yesterday, so been tough, emotional few days for me in terms of everything that’s been going on.

"So I want to dedicate that, as he’s a big Cardiff fan, so I’ll dedicate that win to him and hope he’s looking down on us today.”

News you can trust since 1891
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice