Luton will have to stop ‘one of our country’s all-time greats’ when Derby County come to town tonight – that’s the view of boss Graeme Jones on facing Wayne Rooney.
The former Manchester United goalscorer has 53 goals in 120 appearances for England, smashing Bobby Charlton’s records for both club and country.
He signed an 18-month deal with Derby earlier in the season, joining up with them at the turn of the year, after two terms in the USA with DC United.
For a club that has already shipped 61 goals in 28 Championship games, Luton will have find some defensive resolve to keep out Rooney who, at 33 years old, is still highly regarded by Jones.
“They’ve got some real quality individuals in their team. Tom Huddlestone, for one, and Wayne Rooney,” the manager said, adding: “We’re talking about England’s record goalscorer and he can still play, I can assure you.
“He gets between lines, he gets on the half turn and he’s still got that vision and awareness, that competitive edge.
“He’s just been a phenomenal footballer and I’ve been privileged to have gone up against him. As an England fan – maybe not when I was working for Belgium – I felt pride in what he did for his country.
“To break Bobby Charlton’s record is staggering. You’re talking about history.
“We (Wigan) played at Old Trafford in 2009 and he ran amok. That was Alex Ferguson’s United and if it was 3-0 or 4-0, they were trying to make it 6-0 and 7-0. They didn’t stop and he was phenomenal with his pace and his power.
“His work-rate and then his quality on top, he’s one of our country’s all-time greats.”
As
well as Rooney, Derby will arrive at Kenilworth Road with two former Town
players from very different eras.
Jack Marriott was a League Two player for the Hatters when they sold him to Peterborough
United in 2017, while Curtis Davies was a Luton youth product that came up
through the ranks to play for the club between 2003 and 2005
Jones said: “Curtis, I had the privilege of meeting in December. Him and (Doncaster boss) Darren Moore are close, so I knew about Curtis from a distance, for a while. D
“Darren doesn’t get involved with anybody who aren’t good characters and you can see that on the pitch, really. The age he’s at, he’s still giving a really good level.”
Town will be aiming to end an eight game winless run in the league that has left them eight points adrift from safety in the Championship relegation zone.
Jones said: “We need to get a positive result, we need everybody together. It’s a big night, we need to take something from the game, a positive result and then we’ll see where that takes us.”
The manager will have a virtually full squad to pick from after the news that Izzy Brown, Martin Cranie and Callum McManaman are all back in training, while the illness that forced Harry Cornick off against Nottingham Forest, has passed.
Jacob Butterfield, however, has not featured in the league since December 21 and asked about the midfielder’s absence, the Hatters boss said: “We’ve moved away from the diamond a little bit in the last few weeks and Jacob’s suffered because of that. We’ve taken many things into consideration when you come to those decisions. Jacob’s a fantastic professional. There are no issues at all, it’s just a selection decision.”
