Nathan Jones says that Luton players are fully aware of the £6million it would cost the club if they were relegated from the Championship season, but says they’ll no stone unturned in their bid to beat the drop.
During lockdown, Hatters chief executive Gary Sweet laid out the ‘financial oblivion’ that a return to League One would await for Town and now the club face two final must-win matches to preserve their status in the second tier.
Fellow strugglers Hull City host them on Saturday and third away win out of four would lift them out of the bottom three and set up a do-or-die clash at home to Blackburn on Wednesday.
That ramps up the pressure on the pitch, but asked if he had to shield the squad from the financial implications, off the field, manager Jones said: “I think the player realise. It’s their livelihood as well. It’s a big difference to them, being in the Championship or League One.
“They know all about that, so I don’t think I need to add anything else on to it or shield them from it. They know. It affects them personally, never mind the club. They do care about the club, but they care about their family more.
“So, they know that, but they’re the realities of that. They’ve had a meteoric rise and two years ago the majority of this squad were playing in League Two. We were getting promoted from League Two, two years ago.
“So, to see the rise they come up through, fills you with pride but also realism to know that there was going to be an element of toughness this year.”
Certainly, on a personal level, Luton players are not in the same financial bracket as others across the Championship, with Luton’s highest salary being slightly less than half of the average £14,000 a week dished out by other clubs.
Jones added: “They’re a hungry group, they want to stay at this level and that’s what I love about this group, because they’re a mirror image of me.
“They want to get the absolute best out of their life, out of their career and they don’t leave any stone unturned. Whatever I ask them to do, they will do. As a manager and a coach that’s all you can ask.
“So, they realise the importance of it. They don’t need any financial implications rammed down their throats, trust me on that.
“There’s a vast difference from being a Championship human being to League One. I don’t want to go into the logistics of everything but, trust me, there’s a difference between being a Championship human being and a League One. I talk about that in the tangible sense, not personal.”
