Town midfielder Mpanzu labels Jones 'one of the best' in the Championship as Hatters boss passes 300

Hatters midfielder Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu was eager to praise manager Nathan Jones after he reached his 300th game in charge of the club during the 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Saturday.

The Welshman became only the third man to ever achieve such a milestone at Kenilworth Road, joining an elite group containing David Pleat and Dally Duncan.

Mpanzu is one of just two players to have been with Jones throughout the entirety of his two spells in charge, as he and defender Dan Potts, who recently passed 200 games for Luton, were signed by previous boss John Still.

When Jones arrived, Mpanzu had struggled to string two consecutive games together, but has since been turned into a durable midfielder who has made 40-plus appearances in four of the last six campaigns by the ex-Brighton first team coach.

On the impact the manager has had on his career, Mpanzu, who is now 14th in the club’s appearance list, with 338 matches and 20 goals, bearing down on Mitchell Thomas (341) and Matthew Spring (357), said: “He’s been great, he’s put me in a position where I can play a lot more, a lot of games.

“Unfortunately I got injured against Huddersfield, so that put me out, but I’ve been here the whole time, so he’s been great for me.

“He’s been a great manager and hopefully he can have a lot more (games).

“He’s pushing for bigger and better things so I wish him all the best, but currently he’s with us right now and he’s one of the best managers in the league and that’s why he got the Manager of the Year last season.

“So he’s put in the work and put the club in a great position.”

There have been opportunities for Mpanzu to leave Kenilworth Road, particularly in the summer of 2021 when, out of contract, it looked like he would be moving to new surroundings.

He didn’t though, as Jones himself said: “The way he plays, the way he trains, the character he is, I love him, that’s why I fought so hard to keep him here.”

Having Jones at the helm was one of the main reasons that Mpanzu was happy to pen his new deal 18 months ago, as the former West Ham youngster added: “I trust him with my football ability and my career.

"He’s put me on a great pedestal to push on, so hopefully I can repay him and put in some good performances on the pitch.”