New Luton chief received a 'glowing' recommendation on the Hatters from previous boss Jones

New Town boss Rob Edwards revealed he reached out to previous Luton manager Nathan Jones after agreeing to take over as his replacement at Kenilworth Road, with his predecessor giving the Hatters a ‘glowing’ recommendation.

Having been in charge of the club for just over two-and-a-half years during his second spell at the helm, in which he turned Town into an established Championship outfit, Jones' talents aroused interest from the Premier League, with Southampton appointing him as their replacement for Ralph Hasenhüttl.

Having been out of work for six weeks himself following his sacking by second tier rivals Watford, it was Edwards who was chosen as the man to take over, unveiled to the media on Thursday, and when asked if the pair had chatted about the job beforehand, he said: “Yes, we did, I reached out and he was brilliant.

“He gave me a call and he was brilliant, he spoke in glowing terms obviously of the football club, all the people, all the players, really, really positive.

“We had a nice little chat yesterday (Wednesday), so that was real, really good and I’ll reiterate it again, he’s done brilliant work here.

"We wish him well on his next journey, but he couldn't have been more positive about this club at all.”

Edwards takes over a club that are in fine fettle once more this term, sitting 10th in the table, just one point away from the top six.

After Jones saved the Hatters from relegation when returning 2020, he masterminded finishes of 12th and sixth, and Edwards was keen to pay tribute to the work done by Luton’s former boss plus assistant Chris Cohen and first team coach Alan Sheehan who have joined him on the south coast.

He continued: “The guys have done a fantastic job and that’s why Nathan has got the opportunity to work in the Premier League.

"But that’s what draws me in as whenever you watch this group of players they give everything, you can see they’re coachable, you can see they’re intelligent, there’s good footballers here.

"They’re a point outside the play-offs now, so they’re showing how well they’re doing this season.

"It’s continuing that good work and then trying to build on it as well, impart some of our work on what is already a team that’s doing very, very well.

"They’re used to punching above their weight and I think we like that here, that’s what we’re about.

"We’ve got a really good group and I can’t wait to get working with them.”