Jones ready for a 'tough start' as Hatters go up against Posh, Baggies and Tykes

Luton boss Nathan Jones is readying himself for what he expects will be a difficult start when his side entertain Championship new-boys Peterborough United on the opening day of the season.

The Hatters were pitted against the side who finished runners-up behind champions Hull City in League One last term, making their first return to the second tier since the 2012-13 campaign.

Managed by Darren Ferguson, Posh triumphed 26 times from 46 fixtures last season, and have the likes of free-scoring Jonson Clarke-Harris, plus talented midfielder Sammie Szmodics in their ranks.

After that contest, Town then hit the road twice, going to West Bromwich Albion, relegated from the Premier League last term, and Barnsley, for the third year in a row in the opening month of the campaign.

Reflecting on the first trio of matches, Jones said: “It’s the start of a new campaign, we'd like to start it off well, it’s a real tough fixture, it's not quite a derby, but it’s as local as we can find in the Championship and Darren's done a fantastic job

"It’s a tough start, a promoted team who could be in good spirits, one coming down who you think will be strong, and Barnsley who had a fantastic season last year.

“The league never looks as difficult as it does now as you look at everyone, everyone's a Championship side, everyone’s a big club and regardless of where we finished last year, or who we finished above, they now look big and imposing.

“We won't look too far forward, but we want to make sure we have a real good pre-season.

"Then we take every game as it comes because last year we didn't have too much time to think about it, we came straight out of one (campaign) into another effectively.

“We’ve needed that rest, now we’ll regroup them, re-prepare them and be ready for when that time comes."