Bree hopes to be in from the start against Rams after Reading display

Full back James Bree is hoping his starring performance against Reading in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night has seen him force his way into Luton manager Nathan Jones' plans to face Derby County this afternoon.

The summer signing from Aston Villa was in magnificent form at the Madejski Stadium, defensively solid, while offering a real attacking outlet on the right hand side for Town all evening, setting up two fine chances for Danny Hylton.

Bree had been on the bench when Hatters headed to his former club Barnsley for the Championship opener last weekend, but now is looking to get the nod from the start.

He said: “Hopefully, Cranes (Martin Cranie) has done really well the past few games, so we’ll see what happens, but hopefully I’m in the gaffer's thoughts.

“I hadn’t really had many minutes recently so it was great to be out there and good to get 85 minutes under my belt.

“I’m feeling really fit, I felt really good, so hopefully on Saturday I’m in the gaffer’s mind and I can push into the first 11.”

Bree had been one of the first names on the teamsheet at the end of last season, with some wonderful displays as Luton managed to avoid relegation back to League One on the final day.

He returned to parent club Villa in the summer, missing out on a chunk of pre-season before his permanent move to Kenilworth Road was confirmed.

The 22-year-old was therefore quite happy to manage 85 minutes and feel so fresh in midweek, continuing: "It was really good to come back.

"I haven't really had any match minutes and I haven’t done my pre-season really, going back to Villa and not doing too much, so I was quite surprised really.

"I felt really good, I felt strong and I was driving forward, my fitness will come in time, but I’m feeling really good so hopefully that can continue.

Bree was part of a defence which kept their second clean sheet on the road this term, as Luton have now been breached just once in their six away games since lockdown ended, that coming at champions Leeds United.

It's a far cry away from the ease in which Hatters found themselves conceding during the early stages of Bree's loan move from Villa Park, as the ex-Barnsley youngster added: "That’s something that we wanted to add to our games after last season as we didn’t get enough clean sheets.

"If we can do our jobs better, it makes it much easier for the attackers.

"If we can nick a goal and get a few more wins then you never know what can happen this season, it’s good for the lads and even better for the defenders who are contributing to it."