Luton boss Nathan Jones hailed the impact of ‘game-changer’ Callum McManaman after the substitute scored a late cracker to steal a point from Preston in their return after the three-month Coronavirus lay-off.
Town had fallen behind to a 52nd minute Scott Sinclair goal, but by the time McManaman was introduced on 75 minutes, the Hatters had not managed a shot on target.
The former Wigan wizard’s strike from outside the box, with three minutes to go, remained the host’s only effort on target, but it did the trick.
It saw Luton drop to the foot of the Championship table, but cut the gap to safety to five points, after Middlesbrough lost earlier in the day.
Jones said: “It’s a wonderful finish from Macca, we were right behind it and it would’ve taken something like that, because we didn’t create too much today, like we normally do.
“That’s something we’ll address because we have another four to five weeks’ work, fluent work, to do.”
On his five substitutes, the manager added: “We said (about) the importance of game-changers. We always reiterate that, and we always have. Whether we’ve been up, or whether we’ve had to chase a game or take a game away from a team, in the past we’ve always reiterated the importance of having game-changers.
“In today’s environment, it’s even more so because of fitness levels. We made subs, we felt, at the right time. Could we have done it earlier? Maybe because the impact they had was superb.
“We’re really pleased for Macca but he’s been so bright. Breesy (James Bree) is very good going forward, so we’re pleased with the impact they had.
“There was not much in the game. Preston are a well-drilled, experienced side that have been together for a long time. So, for us to match those, I was pleased.
“It’s probably unfair to say we could’ve nicked it, but we finished stronger and that’s the thing I was pleased with.”
There were no fans in the crowd to see McManaman’s equaliser, with large crowds still not permitted to gather to due social distancing guidelines in place to help tackle the Coronavirus pandemic.
Those edicts have meant that Luton – and indeed all clubs – have only been full contact training for three weeks, after three months without match action.
Jones said: “I don’t think we were anywhere near where we needed to be. Probably up until their goal, I thought we looked very solid, defensively, we were very good, they worked so hard, it’s just we lacked a bit of fluency.
“That’s maybe to be expected with the lay-off and only three weeks, really, to work with them. They’ve been excellent.
“To go down to a goal that’s not a great goal to give away, you’ve got to deal with the first ball and then we’ve got to somehow deal with Sinclair a little bit more.
“I felt we limited them to very little and really, really finished strongly. I think, if we’d have had a full house at the Kenny, I think we might have gone on and nicked that.”
