There's only one place Lawless wants to be next season

Alex Lawless goes for goal against Oxford on Saturday

The 30-year-old is out of contract with the club in the summer, but is desperate that it doesn’t bring an end to his five-and-a-half year stay in Bedfordshire.

He said: “Hopefully, he’s (Jones) said some nice things about me recently and I’m going to make sure I do everything I can, like I have been so far, to be in his thoughts.

“I’ve said that there’s only one place I want to be next season so I‘ll do everything I can to make that happen.

“Apart from the things that he’s said to yourselves, there’s been some positive conversations.

“It’s difficult when I haven’t been playing, I have my reservations, but he’s had some good words and I’ll feed off them and work hard and hopefully he’ll want me.

“It feels like it’s been most of my career here now and when I first moved, that’s what I wanted it to be.

“I wanted to be here, progressing with a club and that hasn’t changed.”

When asked about Lawless during Monday’s press conference ahead of last night’s trip to Carlisle United, Jones said: “At the end of the season we’ll evaluate everything we can.

“We like Alex here, we like having him here, now we’ve got to really get down to the nitty-gritty of who we can take forward.

“But he’s been excellent for me since he’s been here, his work-rate and his desire, fact he’s Welsh doesn’t put him in a bad position either!

“But he’s okay and did well on the weekend.”

Lawless has had to bide his times on the sidelines recently, after spending seven games as an unused substitute.

However, he came on for half an hour against Dagenham & Redbridge in midweek, before playing the full 90 minutes in the 3-2 win at Oxford on Saturday.

On his time out of the picture, Lawless said: “It’s very, very difficult. You’ve just got to keep training which I have and I think it shows that I’ve made sure that I’m ready.

“I just thought when the time comes I’ll look forward to it. I was confident it would come, the manager assured me I would get a chance and I have, so it was nice and now top it off with a good away win against a team who really need to win.

“It happens to everyone at some point, and hopefully I won’t have another stint like that again, that’s the aim.”