Nathan Jones says Luton have to ensure they’re in the survival mix after the upcoming games at Swansea and Leeds to ensure they can attack the final six matches in a bid to beat the drop.
Substitute Callum McManaman rescued an unlikely point late on against play-off hopefuls Preston on Saturday, with the 1-1 draw reducing the gap to safety to five points, despite Town slipping to the foot of the Championship table.
This weekend’s opponents Swansea are only a point off North End in the final play-off place, while Leeds – who Luton travel to on Tuesday – are on course for automatic promotion, so it was always going to be a difficult start to Jones’ second spell in charge.
The manager said: “We’re lacking a bit of sharpness and Preston’s a tough, tough start.
“Swansea, Leeds, they’re tough, tough games, so we’ve got to make sure we’re still in the mix when we come out of those games and then we’ve got six very, very good games and games that we have to be in.
“We’re gathering a bit of momentum. It’s a good point, an avoidable goal, but it’s a start.
“Preston are a well-drilled side and sometimes it takes a little bit of time to get to grips with the game and we haven’t been able to play, because of Coronavirus and the (friendly) game (against Oxford) we had called off.
“We’re lacking a bit of sharpness but that will come. It was important that we got something from the (Preston) game because ironically, we’ve drawn the game and others have nicked wins, but we are closer to safety than when we started.
“So, it was important that we did that because there are some big games coming up, but we’ve got to make sure that we’re in games and that we give ourselves a chance for the games that are coming up.”
Apart from McManaman’s 87th minute leveller, Luton did not manage another shot on target all game as they laboured, predictably, in their first outing for more than three months, due to Coronvirus shutdown of football in March.
Jones only had three weeks to work with the squad in full contact training, after his return to the hotseat and he admitted: “A lot of our play was frustrating, because it’s not what we worked on. Preston are good side, and I don’t know if they started earlier than us but they’re a well-drilled side, so this is a positive point.
“We’d have liked to have won the game, but you can’t win every game. It continues that unbeaten run and it’s a tough, tough game and a tough side to play against.
“I know that because I’ve come up against Alex (Neil) a few times. Yeah, we’re disappointed. We’re disappointed with the amount of possession we had and the problems we caused them.
“It wasn’t until late on that we caused a problem, but that shows the strength we have with the game-changers. We’re disappointed and we’ll address that, but it’s a positive point.”
It was only after Jones had introduced McManaman, goal assister James Bree and George Moncur as the first three of the newly permitted five substitutes, that Luton looked more of a threat.
Jones said of his subs, which also included Danny Hylton and Sonny Bradley: “Some would’ve started if they’d have had a little bit more time, but you have to do that. In the current climate, it’s a very sensible thing to have five substitutions, otherwise you’ll have teams depleted, games with less intensity and we have to keep the integrity of the competition.
“Normally, we’ve got a stadium full of fans sucking the ball in, getting behind the team and that lifts them and gives them that adrenaline. We now have to find ways to get that impetus and game-changers is what we did.”
