Town chief reveals he had a 'frank' discussion with on-loan Aston Villa defender Bree

Hatters boss Nathan Jones admitted he had some frank words with full back James Bree after returning to the club as manager.

The on-loan 22-year-old Aston Villa defender, who signed on loan for the season back in August under previous manager Graeme Jones, has had a tough campaign at Kenilworth Road, playing a fair few of his 37 games out of position on the left hand side.

However, since Jones has come in, Bree's marked improvement has been a big factor in Town's attempts to stay in the Championship, with some stand-out performances in the 1-1 draws with Leeds United and Barnsley, plus the 2-0 triumph at Huddersfield Town on Friday night, his corner setting up Sonny Bradley's opening goal.

After seeing two of his and Luton's former full backs in action in the Premier League on Sunday, Jack Stacey's Bournemouth hammering James Justin's Leicester City 4-1, when asked if Bree could reach those heights, Jones said: “Absolutely, I’ve been very impressed with him.

“We spoke to him, we spoke frankly to him, because I didn't think certain elements of his games meant enough to him.

“So we spoke to him and we were honest, he's bought into that and the boy’s an athlete, has wonderful quality.

“He reminds me a lot of Jack, different pathways obviously, but reminds me so much and I'm really, really impressed with the kid.

“He's developing, he's done fantastically well for me and I'm really, really pleased to have him as I really think there’s a player there.

“He still needs work, which all young players do.

"He's maturing and developing and he’s really taking on board certain things we've talked to him about.

“So credit to him, there’s still a long way to go, the levels where he has to get to, but since I've come in, I've been very, very impressed with him.”