Luton chief learned his lessons from Bees defeat ahead of Boro win

Luton boss Graeme Jones felt his team selection for Saturday’s 1-0 win at Middlesbrough shows he has learned his lessons from the Hatters’ 7-0 thumping at the hands of Brentford earlier in the season.

On that awful day back in November, Town were playing their third game in seven days at Griffin Park as Jones kept an unchanged side for all three matches, Luton going on to concede seven for the first time since January 1996, recording their biggest league defeat since December 1966.

To make matters worse, Izzy Brown was forced off with a serious hamstring injury that kept him out until only recently, while Brendan Galloway suffered a season-ending knee injury as well.

The parallels to Saturday were there for all to see too, Luton having lost and won their two games in the lead up, with Jones this time making just the one change between matches, Sonny Bradley in for Cameron Carter-Vickers for the 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

However, at the Riverside, the Town chief bravely swapped four players, including dropping the highly influential Brown and Glen Rea to the bench, where they were joined by James Bree, with Harry Cornick out completely due to a slight hamstring problem.

In came Luke Berry, Carter-Vickers, Kazenga LuaLua and Martin Cranie to the side, with Ryan Tunnicliffe’s goal ensuring they picked up a first away win since September 28.

Speaking afterwards, Jones said: “There are a lot of variables, that (Brentford) was the first time I’ve played the same team three times in a row.

“The result and the performance totally didn’t work, so you have to learn those lessons.

“Like, as human beings, everyone in this (press) room has made mistakes. Only the mugs don’t learn from them.

“What would have happened if I’d have kept that same group of players in that Brentford week, two weeks later?

“Maybe they would’ve learnt their lesson, maybe that wouldn’t have happened.

"There are so many variables in football, injuries, suspensions, that you’re not in that privileged positions to find out, the goalposts shift all the time.

“What I took from that Brentford week, if I was just assessing that on its own, was that we couldn’t cope with it, we needed to freshen it up.

“I think we freshened it up in four areas. There were four changes but, remember, those boys needed to be well-worked physically.

"If you think the last time Luke, Kaz and Martin Cranie played, there’s a great deal of work gone on behind the scenes with James Redden and his staff, physically, with Gary Brabin and Inigo Idiakez, and tactically.

"For them to give that level of performance, it doesn’t come easy.

“There’s a long road to getting people fit in every single area, the mentality of the players needs to be there.

"They need come in, have that understanding and desire to go and perform and I said, before the game, ‘make sure you’re on the winning team’ because that’s where we get judged.

“The players that came into the team, so there are more winners in that team and let’s see where that takes us.”

The victory also saw Town register a first shut out on their travels this season, and a second in as many games, as Jones added: "A clean sheet for Simon Sluga, Matty (Pearson), Sonny, Cam, Dan Potts, James Bree came on, ready to contribute.

"Glen Rea, Martin Cranie too, that’s where my satisfaction is."