Town boss demands Luton start showing some consistency in fight for survival

The Hatters go into the game on the back of seven defeats out of eight in all competitions, without a win on their travels since beating Blackburn Rovers in late September.

They have only managed to go two league fixtures without defeat on two occasions all season, in August and September and it's something that has to change for Jones if they want to stay up.

He said: "You build consistency and you build form by taking positive results from games.

"I can remember speaking about this roundabout the Swansea period, 'let's concentrate on getting something from every game, positive results.'

"You want draws and wins at this stage because we need a run of consistency.

"It’s what I've said to the players, but actions speak louder than words.

"We can speak as much as we want, there’s a point where we have to put that into practice and the next opportunity is Nottingham Forest."

The hosts have already shown how strong a side they are this term, beating Luton 2-1 at Kenilworth Road, with 14-goal frontman Lewis Grabban and Sammy Ameobi on target.

On the day, Forest surprised Town with their set-up, getting men behind the ball, before playing on the counter, so Jones knows what to expect from the Reds this time.

He continued: "Tactically they haven’t changed, you’ll see the same kind of thing, but at home, a team has to come out a little bit more and be a little bit more expansive.

"They rely a lot on their individuals, as a lot of teams do in the Championship.

"(Joe) Lolley, Grabban, Ameobi, Ben Watson, they’ve got some excellent individuals.

"So before we even talk about the tactical aspect, you have to stop the individuals as well, but I don't think it will be too different from the game at home."

One of those players, Ben Watson, is well known to Jones from their time together at Wigan, where the Luton chief was assistant to Roberto Martinez.

It was the midfielder who scored the only goal of the game as the Latics shocked Manchester City to win the FA Cup back in 2013, and on crossing paths again, Jones added: "I’ve got great memories of Ben as a player and as a character.

"He’s a wonderful character, he’s a managers player Ben, he really does take the message from the manager on to the football pitch.

"Although Nottingham Forest have got some good individuals, he’s probably their most important player.

"When you’ve got great history with people and you’ve been through the mill in terms of relegation fights and you’ve come out of it the other end, as you do with Ben, it’s just a look sometimes.

"It will be a really, really warm feeling to see him on Sunday, but hopefully after the game he’ll have the sad face and not me."“