Luton chief wants Manchester United clashes to become regular fixtures again just as they were in Mick Harford's playing days

Luton boss Nathan Jones wants games against Manchester United to become a regular occurrence once more, just like they were during the days when assistant boss Mick Harford graced the Kenilworth Road pitch.

The 61-year-old was part of Town team who spent a decade in the old Division One during the 1980s and early 1990s, when Town regularly went toe-to-toe with the best teams in the country.

In fact, Harford was on target the last time two teams met at Kenilworth Road, netting an equaliser in a 1-1 draw on April 18, 1992, earning a point after Lee Sharpe had put United in front.

The two teams now go head to head again this evening in the Carabao Cup third round some 18 years on and when asked if Harford he had mentioned the goal prior to the fixture, Jones said: “Once or twice. What a side they had then.

“We’ve got a squad of players here that will go down in Luton’s history, but that was a special group with Mick and a lot of the players they had there, with Fozzy (Steve Foster), the Stein brothers, Ricky Hill, Kingsley Black. I could name a load that are etched in the history here.

“It was a wonderful team and then they were on an even keel with Man U.

“Mick scored and beat them so it’s a wonderful history, but we have to embrace a little bit of that spirit as well.

“We’ve got Mick at the club, he’s a very humble guy, Mick, but he’ll drop the odd one in just to make sure that you know he scored.

“We’re in a good place but it’s a wonderful occasion.

"We want to win and make a good account of ourselves as it’s a massive thing, but it’s a great game for us to have.

“We would like these to be week-in, week-out occurrences.

“When we took over we always had that end goal in sight and we’re probably two steps closer than what we were when we took over.

"It’s a big task to play against them as any Premier League side would say but we’re going to relish the opportunity and hopefully we can give our best account of ourselves.

“This used to be a regular fixture in the top-flight, now it’s not so regular.

“So, what we have to do is go into it with eyes open, that we’re prepared to learn from it, so we can get better so that, eventually, Man U-Luton is a regular league fixture.”

Jones has always enjoyed the challenges of going up against higher opposition during his two spells as Luton boss.

He knocking Aston Villa out of the League Cup, pushed Stoke City, Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday close and also enjoyed an almost famous day at Newcastle United, which had a Danny Hylton goal been correctly allowed to stand, could have led to more than the 3-1 defeat.

Jones said: “We always pride ourselves on playing big sides and wanting to test ourselves because when you test yourselves against good people, good sides, good organisations, you become better yourself, providing you learn from whatever happens in those games.

“We went to Newcastle and learned.

"We pressed high and learned harsh lessons over an eight minute period, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell which side was which, apart from an eight minute period, that was the lesson we learned.

“We played Villa at home and Sheffield Wednesday away in the FA Cup and we relish playing higher league opposition, so this is going to be no different.”

Before Town get to the point when they can dream of playing United every season, Jones was aware they need to becoming a competitive second tier side and not facing relegation battles like last season, requiring a last day win over Blackburn Rovers to stay up.

He knows that building a new ground at Power Court is essential to those plans too, adding: "In the short and medium term we have to make sure we’re a Championship side, an established one.

"I don’t just mean surviving every year and celebrating a last-gasp survival.

"We want to stay in the Championship, first and foremost, but we want to become an established one with an identity.

"One that plays a certain way, that gets enough points so that we are looking to take next steps all the time.

"We believe we are in a good place to achieve that and once we get that, that could be eight months in the making, a year or two years, then, for us to take the next step, of course, we’re going to need the next phase of Power Court and Newlands Park, because that will give us a platform to enable us to be more competitive, compared to other clubs.

"Right now, we’re very happy with the squad we’ve got, but, for us to move forward, that’s an essential part.”