Graeme Jones believes the international break came at the right time for his Luton team so they could regroup after a fourth Championship defeat on the spin.
The 3-0 reverse at Reading was comfortably their most insipid performance of the campaign as they had no answer once the Royals took the lead in the 22nd minute from a corner.
And after they failed to have a single shot on target for the whole second half, boss Jones said his men were outclassed, outplayed and out-thought. He also revealed he was considering the introduction of sports psychology into his work to help his struggling side, which he has now done.
The first international break of the season, helped break good Town momentum, after they beat relegation rivals Huddersfield, but returned to a 30-minute blitz at QPR that devastated them despite a spirited comeback, which ultimately fell short.
But after this month’s break in match action, Jones said: “I think it came at a good time because we’ve worked. We’ve really, really worked, and I think we’ll get adaptation tomorrow, certainly in the physical area, the technical area, definitely tactically prepared. Mentally, I think we better, so I think the international break came at a good time, this time.
“We’ve used it. We’ve had a lot of sessions, so I’m expecting to see some development in that.”
The Hatters host Leeds United today, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side one of the sides fancied for promotion this term, currently on a five-game unbeaten streak.
Asked whether it would be hard to recover from their performance at Reading two weeks ago, Jones said: “I don’t think it will be difficult. You’ve got no greater stimulation that Leeds coming to Kenilworth Road tomorrow and we need to respond.
“Remember, it’s really only the Reading game that you can throw at us, and I’ll accept that. Before that, you couldn’t really throw a lot at us this season, but we need to respond to the Reading defeat.”
