Luton chief knew 'in his bones' that Town wouldn't be anywhere near relegation this season

Town boss Nathan Jones conceded he felt it 'in his bones' that the Hatters wouldn’t be struggling against relegation this season.

It was to prove the correct feeling, with Luton’s lowest position during the 46 game campaign, that coming in February, when a run of one win in seven matches saw them drop to 18th in the table, but still a healthy nine points clear of the bottom three.

Seven victories from their final 15 games saw Town eventually end up in 12th position, ahead of some clubs who have been in the Premier League recently like Stoke City, Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City, recording their highest points tally at this level since 1982 too, with 62 on the board.

After taking over when the Hatters looks odds-on to go down last term, eventually leading to them to safety on the final day, Jones said: “We want to get better, we want to finish higher next year than we have this year.

"But I knew we were going to finish higher than 19th, or I believed it in my bones because every player I met last July or August, some thought ‘well you just survived,' but I said 'we will not be anywhere near there, we won’t be, we are evolving'.

"It takes time and we’ve proved that and I’m saying to you now, I believe we will get better next year.

"So for us to finish higher than 12th, is going to be some, some achievement, but we like pushing boundaries here.

"As to finish 12th with what we have in the midst of a pandemic, against what we have to play against, week in week out, it’s not quite miraculous, but it’s absolutely outstanding.”