Jones lauds 'immense' players during 'ridiculous' Championship run-in

Luton boss Nathan Jones praised his ‘immense’ group of players for not being derailed from the spate of injuries they have picked up during the 'ridiculous' Championship run-in.

Town have been without Glen Rea, Kazenga LuaLua, Matty Pearson and Izzy Brown during recent games, although Rea and LuaLua were fit enough for the trip to Hull City on Saturday, both playing huge roles in an absolutely massive 1-0 win.

That victory was achieved without defender Dan Potts either, named on the team sheet for the game, but ruled out in the warm-up, as the experienced Martin Cranie took his place on the left hand side of Town’s defence.

Despite the switch, Luton kept their opponents out for the 90 minutes, grabbing the only goal through LuaLua late on, as Jones said after the game: "He (Potts) did something yesterday, so we had a little gamble up to see if he was fine.

“He wasn't, but to be fair Martin Cranie came in and was absolutely outstanding, he really was, so it didn’t seem to affect us.

“That's the group we've got, whatever you throw at them they're amazing, they're immense, I love working with them.

“It didn't derail them, didn't put them off, and I'm so proud of them.”

The clean sheet was Luton’s third in four on the road since the season restarted, as they have only conceded once, that at Elland Road when holding champions Leeds United to a 1-1 draw, shutting out Swansea City and Huddersfield Town as well as the Tigers.

Prior to Jones' arrival, Luton had kept just two shut outs away from Kenilworth Road all season, conceding 44 goals from 19 matches, one of the main reasons why their goal difference has been such a hindrance to their survival hopes.

However, Town have tightened up considerably since, as the boss continued: “Not many go to Leeds and keep a clean sheet, but I've been really proud of them.,

"I've said to them, we've got one massive game to go where we've got to try and finish the job.”

Town now have yet another quick turnaround to host Blackburrn Rovers on Wednesday night in their last match of the season and ninth in 33 days, completing a crazy schedule to finish the campaign after lockdown.

Jones knows that preparation will once again be limited for the final effort, where a win should secure Luton's second tier status, adding “The ridiculous nature of the games, without being able to train, it’s so tough to get them at this level, but they’re giving me everything, absolutely everything.

"We’ve lost Pottsy, we’ve lost Matty Pearson, Izzy Brown, we’ve lost so many players through just the relentless of everything.

"We haven't been able to train them, the tactical element I do is very little, very limited because they can't train in between.

"It’s ridiculous and now we've got to go and try and finish the job, one more game.

“They're physically exhausted, but you've got to draw on it as the stakes are so high.

"Everyone, the staff are working so hard, I'm away from my family, I get to come home for one night and see my baby daughter and that’s the same for everyone.

"It’s an unprecedented time that we have to make sure we come through in real good form.”