Graeme Jones has explained that changing his Town team is a direct result of the rigours of the Championship, which he believes is ‘the most competitive league in the world’.
Changing his starting 11 is one of the criticisms levelled at the Hatters boss by some fans and results have not helped as Luton picked up just one point from the festive fixtures, slipping to the bottom of the division.
Asked what he would say to supporters who question his team selections, Jones said: “I would say that with five games in 14 days (over Christmas) it’s impossible to repeat the same level.
“I would say that I had a three-game week where I kept the same team against Leeds, Charlton and Brentford and we all know the outcome of the final fixture of that week.
“I would say that the three-game weeks, if I’m looking at the evidence, we struggle to handle. We have lost the most points in those weeks.”
Jones has previously said that now the busy Christmas fixture list is out of the way, that Luton will benefit from seven day breaks between games, with just four more midweek games left this term.
Further explaining his team selections, Jones said: “When the games are once a week and we prepare well for them and the boys are fresh going into them, we’re always competitive. I can’t think of one where we haven’t been.
“If you talk about the robustness of the Championship and the saturation, when people say it’s the most competitive league in the world, it is that because of the testing three games in seven days.
“So, that’s been difficult. I’ve had to refresh it at times. I’ve not wanted to and that’s why I made such a stance to sticking with the same team and tactics in that week (Leeds, Charlton and Brentford), but the findings sadly were that, over three games in seven days, we did it for two, we couldn’t do it for three.”
