Nathan Jones praised forgotten man Elliot Lee who has come in from the cold to hand the Hatters a Championship lifeline with a goal at relegation rivals Huddersfield.
The attacker feared his Hatters career was over after being frozen out by previous boss Graeme Jones, but he’s been returned to first-team action under the current manager and tonight he returned the favour to put the seal on a 2-0 victory that moves Town to within two points of safety.
The clash at the John Smiths Stadium was a must-win against relegation rivals the Terriers – who the Hatters have now moved to within three points of – and there looked little chance of that in the first half when they registered no shots.
But they opened the scoring early in the second half, when Sonny Bradley headed home a corner. Then Lee put the game beyond the hosts in the 71st minute when he pounced after James Collins had hit the post.
Lee only featured in four Championship games under the previous Town manager, and not been given a sniff since January.
He has since admitted he thought he’d never play for Luton again but he was brought in from the cold by Nathan Jones, who return for a second spell in charge of the club in May.
Under the Welshman the former West Ham youth has played in four of the six games since the restart and, after scoring his first goal in 11 months, the 25-year-old raced to celebrate with the manager.
Jones said: “I can’t speak for anyone else or anything, but when we’ve had Elliot at this football club, when he’s played for me, he’s been excellent.
“In League One, League Two, he was a phenomenal player. He was brave, wanted to get on it, has an eye for goal, technically superb, but he has a big heart.
“When things are happening and when teams are pressing, he will have the ball. He’s a brave little player and that’s what I like about him.
“That’s what we brought him here for, so I’m delighted for him because he’s had to be patient and word hard. He’s a great kid.”
