Graeme Jones said it was his players’ desire that saw them beat Derby County 3-2 last night to claim their first Championship win in nine games.
They came from behind after Wayne Rooney had found the top corner with a deflected strike on the hour, with Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Donervon Daniels scoring in ten minutes.
Former Hatter Chris Martin looked to have resuced a point for the Rams, but their own man, Jayden Bogle, put through his own net with two minutes of normal time remaining.
It was no more than Town deserved after a fabulous display that belied their position propping up the division, though this result narrowed their route to survival to just six points.
But Jones said the credit should all go to his players, saying: “We gave the lads the parameters and the understanding of what Derby were. They’re a possession side, they play out from the back, the rotate in midfield and they use false full backs and Rooney’s a ten in between, but after that it was about us.
“It had to come from the players because, nowadays, sometimes, it’s too coach-led. The players’ desire and the players’ understanding and application of what we asked them to do, the players won the game.”
Jones had said he saw green shoots of recovery in his side’s previous game, a 3-1 reverse at Nottingham Forest, but that they improved on that under the lights at Kenilworth Road.
“It has to come from within,” said the Luton chief, adding: “There is a unity there and a bond there and we’ve been tested beyond belief and we’ve kept it in there. We’ve kept it real; we’ve kept standards high and that’s the biggest challenge from the outside.”
And after conceding the first goal so frequently, their fightback against Derby was all the more impressive.
Daniels, who scored a thumping header, to end a goal drought stretching just over four years, said: “Normally, it would’ve knocked us, but we’ve put our heads together and there’s a real togetherness, there’s a real belief amongst the group, which has been pushed by the gaffer, pushed by the coaching staff.
“We’ve set the standard in training and we’ve just got to continue it in games. In the first 45 minutes, even the first 60 minutes, before they scored, and even after they scored, we had the ball, we passed it well and we have the quality to contribute to this league in any way we want to do and we just have to keep doing it.”
Jones added: “All I’ve said to the boys is, ‘you look after yourself now, no messing about. It’s business time.’
“Everybody is writing us off and we’ve got a little feeling in there. We go to West Brom on Saturday and we’ll have a right go.”
