Town defender Osho happy to have earned the trust of Luton boss Jones this season

Town defender Gabe Osho is happy to have earned the trust from manager Nathan Jones this season following an extended run in the first team recently.

The 23-year-old had started six of the first nine games of the campaign, before dropping out of the side after the 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth in September.

He only began two of the next 16 league fixtures, a 3-1 win over Middlesbrough and 1-0 defeat to Stoke back in November, but then returned to the starting XI for the 2-1 win over Bristol City in January, slotting into the heart of the back three in the absence of skipper Sonny Bradley.

Following a fine performance, Osho kept his place for nine of the next 10 games, mainly operating in the centre half role, with stand-out displays against Blackburn Rovers, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion in particular further endearing himself to the Town supporters.

He also moved into midfield against Cambridge in the FA Cup, stepping further forward for the matches with Chelsea and Middlesbrough, but the run of games eventually was to his detriment, picking up an injury in the 2-1 reverse at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday which saw him miss Tuesday night's trip to Coventry City.

However, speaking before that, Osho was happy that he has played such a big part recently in the Championship, especially as he had been in the National League and League Two last term, with loan moves to Yeovil Town and Rochdale, after being unable to break into the side at Kenilworth Road.

With 16 starts and seven substitute appearances this term, he has already eclipsed the total of seven outings had had during his four years at Reading, the club he left in the summer of 2020, eventually moving to Luton a few months later, as the defender said: “I’m just happy to play, whatever position the manager plays me in.

"Obviously I’m still learning centre back and centre mid, I haven’t played much in centre mid in my career, but I’m happy to be playing, happy that the manager’s trusting me.

“I’ve always had self belief that I could play at this level.

"It’s brilliant that the manager has shown that faith in me now and I’m playing and we’re winning games.

“I’m feeling more and more confident going into games, the team is feeling confident, it's brilliant at the moment, we just have to keep it going.

“It’s brilliant to be part of this team and especially last month, we've just been winning and the momentum seems to be building.

"For me personally, obviously I’m delighted to be involved in the games that I’ve been playing and just want to keep helping the team as much as I can.”

When asked just what it is that has seen the Hatters piece together a terrific run 10 league wins from their last 15 matches, which has pushed them right up into contention for the play-offs, sitting sixth with 11 games to go, Osho added: “I think it's because of the work we do day in day out on the training ground.

"Everyone believes in the methods that we have and everything the gaffer says so when it comes to games and it’s a little bit tough sometimes, we just go back to that.

"It seems to be working so long may it continue.

“He’s (Jones) lively in the changing room as well, but when we’re playing we’re just concentrating on the game, and we know all the messages that manager gives us going into the game."