Hatters boss hoping to make it ten unbeaten tomorrow night
Hatters boss Nathan Jones is delighted by his side’s recent ability to turn a run of draws into victories, with a third successive clean sheet in Sky Bet League Two giving the Town the platform to win 2-0 at Morecambe on Saturday.
The Welshman told the media at his press conference ahead of tomorrow night’s game against Portsmouth that he always knew that single points would be turned into maximum hauls, because his boys’ level of performance was always consistent.
“If you have a consistent level of performance, which is what we look for, then results follow – whether they are draws or whether they are wins,” said Jones, whose team are unbeaten in nine league games and have now put back-to-back wins together for the first time since early September.
“All we have asked for is a consistent level of performance and we’ve been getting that. We’ve eradicated a few little things. We’ve been looking reasonably solid and I always know we’ve got a goal in us.
“In terms of the players we’ve got, we are a forward-thinking side and we’ve got good players, so the more clean sheets we can get, the more wins we can get because I’m always confident we can get a goal.”
The Town have the best defensive record in the division with just 15 goals conceded in 17 matches, a total that is two better than league leaders Plymouth and tomorrow night’s opponents Portsmouth.
The biggest league crowd of the season is expected at Kenilworth Road, and Jones is relishing the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the side sitting one spot and two points below the fourth-placed Hatters in the table.
“It’s a massive game,” said Jones. “Two big clubs. Two big clubs with aspirations. Two big clubs that believe the infrastructure is there for higher leagues and so on. The fan base is magnificent.
“I think the way that both sides play, it’s a big, big game and one that we are looking forward to – and I would imagine Portsmouth are exactly the same.
“To work with the group I’ve got is the dream really as a manager, and to test them in games like this is really good. It’s a fantastic feeling. Hopefully that will continue until midnight on Tuesday night, and we get the result. But we are really looking forward to it and we have a group that are ready.”