Huddersfield ‘start as favourites’ but Jones explains what will get Luton to Wembley

Nathan Jones has urged his Hatters to ‘dig deep” to beat Huddersfield on their home turf and reach the Championship play-off final at Wembley. 

Town drew 1-1 with the Terriers on Friday in the first leg, with skipper Sonny Bradley bagging an equaliser to take north tonight. 

The Hatters haven’t beaten the Yorkshire side in three attempts so far this morning, while their hosts have only lost four times in the league this term at the John Smiths Stadium. 

Asked what his side will need to do to turn those fortunes around and keep their Premier League dream alive, Jones said: “I think we have to show quality, be brave, recover well and we have to dig deep, because it’s going to be tough. 

“Going to the John Smiths Stadium, they’re an excellent side there. They finished third in the league, so they start as favourites again, but it’s the play-offs and anything can happen.” 

With three other former Premier League sides in the play-offs, all with bigger budgets, Luton are the rank outsiders, but Jones is proud of how the club have mixed it with the big boys of the Championship this term. 

“It’s wonderful that we’re in the Championship play-offs, we have to pinch ourselves a little bit from that,” said the manager. 

“There’s never been a club with our budget this high in the league, so we’ve done wonderful work and we’re right in the fight to try to get to Wembley, to try to then get to the Premier League.

“I’m really proud of everyone at the football club as for us to do it, it’s not just a team of 11 players or management, a whole club has to come together for us to do it as resources wise we’re behind most people.

“Especially in the Championship, we are definitely behind everyone from third to sixth.

“So in our little mini league, we are the poor neighbours, but everything we can do, we can match, and we can stay with them, as we do things phenomenally well right from top to bottom and that’s something we can be really proud of.”