Nathan Jones said he watched with “sheer pride” last night as two of his proteges, James Justin and Jack Stacey, went head-to-head in Bournemouth’s 4-1 Premier League victory over Leicester City.
The Welshman gave Lutonian Justin his professional debut during his first spell and the Hatters and recruited former Reading and Exeter prospect Stacey as well.
The pair were two of Town’s biggest assets last season as they helped the club to the League One title, but last summer they were expectedly snapped up by the top-flight teams in multi-million-pound deals.
Last night, Stacey’s relegation-threatened Cherries came from behind to boost their prospects of staying the Premier League, while Justin’s Leicester now face a nervous wait tonight to see if Manchester United overtake them in the race for the final Champions League spot.
“Yesterday, I was watching that with sheer pride. At the training ground last night, I watched the game and it’s brilliant to see two of our boys – and they’re our boys – we remember them doing so well and we’re just so, so happy for them,” said Jones.
“JJ was homegrown, Jack Stacey, we bought for a fraction of his value now.
“What we always say at this club when we take them is if they move quicker than we us, effectively, then we don’t stand in anyone’s way and that’s been the case.”
Justin went to Leicester and got his debut for the Foxes against Town in the League Cup, even scoring a cracker at the Kenilworth Road end.
In another turn of fate it looked like Luton would face Stacey when they were drawn away at Bournemouth in the third round of the FA Cup, but their former man was injured at the time.
Talking of their development at Luton, Jones said: “To be fair to them, they both had opportunities to move. Jack did, it didn’t happen and then he just got on with it and had his best season.
“JJ was exactly the same, he trusted the process. He’s got a fantastic family and obviously we know about his dad (Mick, who died recently) who was a big influence on him. Praise the Lord he had that and also his advice. He trusted us and we did that.
“(They were) wonderful people to have at the club. They developed and got to a (better) level.”
