Nathan Jones believes Dan Potts will eventually become a centre half after a two clean sheet displays when stepping into the heart of the defence.
The former West Ham United youth has been deployed as a left back since arriving at Luton six years ago and was, at the start of the League One campaign, viewed as the first choice in that position.
Injuries have blighted his Hatters career and when a serious one ruled him out of the side, academy ace James Justin stepped in and excelled, helping Town to consecutive promotions and earning a big money move to Leicester City.
Rhys Norrington-Davies was brought in on loan from Sheffield United at the start of this season, with Potts again injured, but the Welsh international’s controversial departure last week, to join Stoke City until the end of the season, again left Potts as the first choice left back.
But the 26-year-old filled in impressively at centre half on Saturday in the 1-0 win at promotion-chasing Bournemouth, after Tom Lockyer was forced off with a bloody eye.
He helped the Hatters to victory with a timely clearance to prevent Dominic Solanki from scoring, and that was after he captained a much-changed side from the centre of defence in Luton’s 1-0 FA Cup third round victory over Reading.
“I think that’s his best position,” said boss Nathan Jones, adding: “His best position is left-side centre half of a three. He’s excellent in the air. For a centre half, he can defend one-v-one as well as anyone.
“Being a full-back, he can bring the ball out, so that’s where I see him long-term. I think he knows that. I think that’s his natural position, so it gives us good options, having another one in.
“We always looked at that but we never had (James) Bree, Potts and Rhys fit, apart from the game just after he (Norrington-Davies) left. If he’d stayed, all three of those would be playing.”
The clean sheet at the Vitality Stadium ensured Luton have now earned eight shutouts in the Championship this term, which is already one more than the entirety of last league season.
It’s been a major change under Jones, since the Welshman returned for a second spell in charge of the club in May.
Faced with nine games to save Luton from relegation after the restart from the first coronavirus lockdown, he guided the then leakiest defence in the division to three clean sheets and as part of their Great Escape.
A former full-back himself, Jones said: “We’ve always had a good defensive record here, in the past we were lauded for our attacking prowess, but we worked incredibly hard and were very, very good defensively.
“I think we were in the top two pretty much every year, maybe the first year when we got to the play-offs we were top three in terms of defensive record, and we’ve had to really instill that.
“Now we’re not the most free-flowing scoring, but what we’ve said to them is if we can work hard, if we can keep clean sheets then we’ve always got a chance to get points on the board and that’s what we’ve done.
“But players need the credit for that as they work so, so hard, some probably too hard, some probably overrun when an element of just calm, they’d be in the same position.
“But I can’t take that away from them, because it’s a group that really wants to do well and gives me everything and that’s why they get clean sheets.
“On the weekend, someone told me about their (Bournemouth) manager’s comments that they were the best team.
“They should be, they’ve got wonderful, wonderful players, but it was a very even game up until the (Jefferson Lerma) sending off.
“In the second half we had to really do all the ugly things, heading in the box, go with runners, stop shots, block shots and we did all those things and that’s as important as free-flowing football and creating chances, doing the stuff at the other end.
“That’s what we did at the weekend and I’m very pleased with that, but they’ve shown since I’ve been here over, whatever it is, 37 games, and even against a side like Man United, they’re a side that tries to defend well and it’s not for a lack of trying that sometimes we get caught out, sometimes it’s other people’s quality.”
