Graeme Jones admitted that Chelsea loan ace Izzy Brown has been frustrated with the start of his spell at Luton, but says he channelled it in the right way to change the game against Huddersfield.
Town went a goal down against the run of play early in the second half on Saturday, but the manager made a quick change, replacing the excellent, defensively minded Jacob Butterfield for Brown.
It helped the Hatters press the Terriers and they turned the contest around with a penalty from James Collins and a glorious curler from Andrew Shinnie, to win 2-1.
Brown, who came to Kenilworth Road on a season-long loan, has had to make do with substitute’s appearances in the Championship after a starring outing for his debut in the Carabao Cup against Ipswich.
Jones said: “Izzy Brown’s a top player. He’s been frustrated, but sometimes you have to manage frustration and you have to try to understand your players, allow them to use that frustration to perform and don’t take it out by speaking to people. Try to keep that frustration and use it in your actions and I thought he did when he came on the pitch.
“I thought Izzy was great for 70 minutes the other night (against Cardiff) and then he tired and found a way. You have to harbour his frustration.
“I think frustration, used wisely, can be a powerful emotion, along with having a healthy brain. He’s got a healthy brain because he wants to come in and perform, he wants to show what he’s got, but he’s had to work for the team.
“So, it’s part of management, but it’s Izzy who’s got that quality, who changed the game. I’m delighted for him, delighted for his work.”
Last Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Cardiff in the Carabao Cup was Brown’s first 90 minutes for more than two years after he injured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Brighton on loan in the Premier League.
Jones said: “Izzy’s played a specific role for me in the Carabao Cup games. Izzy knows what that role is, and I thought it was tactically perfect to put him on at that point.
“But if the player doesn’t have the right attitude, or the right application and he thinks he’s too big for the club, you’re not going to get that.
“He was prepared to do the hard work. He was prepared to defend. On the ball, I’ve got no doubt about Izzy’s quality, but I think, over this period of a month that we’ve had him, we’ve given him an understanding of the role that he wants and he managed to perform (against Huddersfield).”
