Town boss sees similarities between the Hatters and Sky Blues ahead of tonight's clash at St Andrew's

Town chief Nathan Jones believes tonight’s opponents Coventry City are on a similar trajectory to the Hatters after winning promotion back to the Championship last term,.

The Sky Blues ended eight years away from the second tier by finishing top of League One when the campaign was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Robins’ side started slowly this term, with just one win in their opening eight games, but have really got to grips with the standard now, unbeaten in five, and not being beaten in their last four games on home soil.

Jones was in charge when Town side took on City at League One and League Two level, during the two teams rise back up the footballing echelon, claiming four points from the games which were held at the Ricoh Stadium, rather than tonight's venue, Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground.

Speaking about the contest, he said: "They’re a good side. I watched them at Cardiff the other day, we were lucky enough that Cardiff played them, so it gave us an opportunity to look at both teams.

“I’ve watched them a few times and we’re now doing our game prep on them, they’re a good side, they’ve done very well.

“It’s a similar trajectory to us. It probably took a year longer, but Mark (Robins) has been there a long time, done a great job, got two promotions and I watched them a little bit last year when I was in-between jobs.

“They’re a good side and it’ll be a very tough game, as is every Championship game, but we’ll see what it brings.”

City splashed some cash during the summer to bolster their squad for the new level, with around £1m going on former Netherlands U20 midfielder Gustavo Hamer from Dutch side PEC Zwolle.

On the players Town will be going up against this evening, Jones continued: "I don’t think think they’ve got superstars. I think they’re similar to us in that way.

“I think a lot of those have come along with them and they’ve had real continuity there.

"They’ve added the boy from Brighton (defender Leo Skiri Ostigard on loan), (Callum) O’Hare’s been there for a little while.

"They bought (Gustavo) Haymer and added Taylor Walker and they’ve got real continuity.

“I didn’t mean to be disrespectful when I say they’ve got no superstars, what I mean is they’ve not gone out and bought.

"They’ve had to work and have that continuity and they’re a similar position to what we are.”

Striker Tyler Walker has three goals in 10 league games after making the move from Nottingham Forest in the summer, while Maxime Biamou has two to his name, including one in the 3-1 win over Rotherham on Saturday.

Jones said: "We know Tyler very well because of where he has been on loan, previously with Mansfield and Lincoln and did very well, now he's stepped up and found his feet at Championship level.

"Biamou has been there for a long time so we know him, he scored at the weekend so they are a threat but Coventry as a whole will be a threat.

"We have to make sure that we are ready for combat and those threats and impose ours on them because that is what we intend to do mostly.

"We were very positive against Swansea, we went after Swansea even early on.

"When they got the goal, we set up to press high so we have to impose our game on them.

"They have threats, of course they have good players, of course they’re in a good position but so are we."

Although Luton go into the match on the back of a 2-0 defeat at Swansea, their second successive away loss following a 4-0 reverse against Cardiff the week before, Jones had been more than happy with his team's efforts in Wales on this occasion.

He added: "It purely flattered them two-nil. One is really late after we were chasing the game when I had as many attackers as I could have possibly brought on the pitch.

“Apart from the first minute and a half we were outstanding.

"The goal’s very fortunate as they've had two deflected shots and that can happen.

"We’ve had the better chances, more possession, we pressed, I thought we were excellent and I’m proud of the performance.

"It’s difficult to say you're proud of the performance when you lost 2-0, but that doesn’t tell the story of what's happened.

"We’ve come away twice now and lost games, not scored in Wales and it doesn't tell the story.

"I was frustrated (to concede inside two minutes) as that knocks you a little bit.

"It’s a difficult one to take because of the performance, but these are a good side, they‘ve got the best defensive record, so we knew it was going to be tough.

"We created enough to have won the game ironically and they’ve got away with one today, they know that, but good sides do that.

"They find a way to win when they don’t play well and credit to them.

"We were the better side, even with 10 men, we showed character, we took a few chances, we showed desire, and that showed the shift they gave to me.

"The other day at Cardiff, I congratulated every Cardiff player because I thought to a man they were excellent for their manager, but now mine were.

"We were the better side, but it’s just they've scored two, so it's futile.

"When we evaluate that we’ll think, there's a team in there, and that’s what I'm really, really pleased with."