Nathan Jones admitted Luton’s “defending was catastrophic” against Reading as they conceded five goals for the first time in either of his Town tenures.
Yakou Miete scored an 18-minute hat-trick inside the first 35 minutes, also adding his fourth and the Royals’ fifth after strike partner George Puscas had notched.
The Hatters had no reply once the scoring started, with James Collins hitting the crossbar before the deadlock had been broken. But they just crumbled after that, with the result seeing them slip five points from safety at the foot of the Championship, with just five games remaining.
Jones said: “Today wasn’t good enough in any way. Our defending was catastrophic at times. We got carved open far too easily, and that was against the grain.
“Some of the defending was something I haven’t seen from those players, since I was here in my first spell. I haven’t conceded five as a Luton manager, ever.
“A lot of them came out of nothing. I wasn’t like we were penned in. If we’d conceded five on Tuesday (against Leeds), you’d have had a bit more understanding, but today was totally out of character and that surprises me.”
The worst part of it, was that Town gifted goals to Reading, with Matty Pearson the worst culprit, laying Miete’s second on a plate for him, when it was easier to clear the danger.
“Defensively, we were flat,” said Jones, adding: “They (Reading) probably had six chances and scored five. We were just really, really flat. We lacked energy, we lacked a real drive in our performance, and I can only put that down to the effort they put in (against Leeds).
“It’s very difficult for me to really have a go at them. I’m bitterly disappointed.
“There was so much wrong today, that it’s just one of those games too far.”
Former boss Graeme Jones had often said that Town struggled when they faced three games in a week, and that assessment looked correct against the Royals, having picked up an impressive four points in the previous two games against promotion-chasing Swansea and Leeds.
“We’ve had two massive away journeys. Let’s not forget that and let’s not by flippant,” said Jones, adding: “We’re not robots. I didn’t anticipate the result like that, but I understand it.
“I’ve been a player and we do a lot of sports science stuff. Reading had the luxury today to make five changes because, being on 49 points, they needed one result. They can afford that.
“We can’t afford to gamble with five or six changes, so we’ve got to go again for a massive game on Tuesday (against Barnsley) and then we go again on Friday (against Huddersfield) . It’s unprecedented times but we’ve got to find a way.”
