Nathan Jones says his side will be ready for tonight’s must-win relegation six-pointer against Barnsley, but admits that the turnaround time is more akin to Champions League contenders.
The bottom two sides in the Championship will face off at Kenilworth Road having both suffered heavy defeats at the weekend, in their fourth games in 14 days.
The Hatters were hammered 5-0 by Reading, while the Tykes were tonked 4-0 at relegation rivals Stoke City, with Town boss admitting his players were fatigued after chasing leaders Leeds around Elland Road for a hard-fought point last Tuesday.
Jones thinks Barnsley may feel similar effects, saying: “They’ve had an away journey, have to travel all the way back to Barnsley then come back down here, so they’ll be in a similar situation to what we were.
“It’s tough. These are not normal circumstances, where you always get time to work with them.
“We’ve got nine games in just over 30 days and that doesn’t happen unless you are a Champions League side.
“It’s tough, so you’ve got to make sure you’re careful with them. You’ve got to dust them down, prepare well. It’s going to be a tough, tough game because there’s so much at stake. We’ve got to get ready and we will.”
But with so little time to prepare after woeful defensive display against Reading, Jones knows he’s got his work cut out to get his men ready.
“We’ve got to get back onto the basics, do the basics right and make sure we’re in a good frame of mind,” said the manager.
“How easy that’s going to be? Each individual’s different, but it’s up to me, as a manager, to lift them, and I have to.”
