Nathan Jones was understandably thrilled at full-time on Tuesday evening with his sides determination to go on and win the game comfortably against Accrington Stanley.
The hotly-contested encounter was won in the second half with three goals that meant the Hatters progressed into the top six.
Speaking at The Brache this afternoon, Jones said: “It was a real good team performance, maybe I could be slightly critical of one or two of our players, but I thought from start to finish we were excellent. We scored some really good goals, we showed a real athleticism about us and we moved the ball well.
“So did Accrington to be fair. At times they caused us problems and they put a lot of balls in our box which we defended superbly well because we worked on that. We stayed strong centrally, we know we can defend our box well with the people we have. So, it was a very good performance.
“Danny will take the limelight because he scored the hat-trick, but that’s one thing Danny brings to you. His all-round performance was excellent, his work rate, but there were some real good battles.
“We’ve got a real good rivalry with Accrington and those games are real good matches. The heat involved in everything, so we had to play well, and we have – and we’ve won the game.”
The gaffer still has his feet firmly on the ground however, as his attention now turns to a away match at Kingsmeadow against AFC Wimbledon, who have lost their last five matches and currently sit in the relegation zone.
Town have put in some good performances away from home but failed to put too many points on the board. They will be going into the match in good form and with almost a full squad, hoping to round off a fantastic week on the pitch.
Jones continued: “Apart from Potts and Berry we’re at full strength. Marek is back, and it’ll be good to have Elliot Lee back, so we’ve got that strength on the bench and we’re pretty much as strong as we can be.
“Potts and Berry, we’ve just got to be a little bit careful with them and give them a little bit of time. Apart from those two, we’re at full strength so we’re in good form but look, it’s a tough game to go there, a very very tough game, as I’ve known in the past.
“We’re more concerned about everything we do. We’re in a different kind of form to them, but as I said the margins are so small, if they get a goal early on, it could gee them up.
“So what we’ll do is we’ll prepare in exactly the same way for exactly the same type of team because regardless of form, it’s going to be a very, very tough game. It’s a tough place to go.
“I know that from probably the biggest learning curve I had in management, losing 4-1 there when we actually felt we played reasonably well in the middle thirds, it was just both boxes we weren’t. That was a learning curve for me, so we won’t make that mistake again.”
Loanee Jake Jervis will not be available to play against the Hatters as he enjoys a successful loan spell with the Dons this season. Jones has been a number of times to watch him play and is happy with his progress at Kingsmeadow.
Jones said: “We believe Jake is a very good player and one we didn’t really want to let go, but we couldn’t guarantee him the game time that he wanted. So, to suit all parties, we let him go. I think he’ll be a miss for them, he has been playing so it’s one where he won’t come back to haunt us this weekend.”
The Welshman is also delighted with his side’s adaptation to Sky Bet League One this season. The Hatters have clawed their way into a play-off spot with Tuesday’s win, so Jones is confident that his team will be competitive in every game this season. Come the end of May, the boss is hoping to finish at the right end of the table.
He added: “I’m not sure that many fans would have been happy for us to settle in mid-table but that’s not what we’ve come into the league for. Wherever we finish, what we will do is make sure we are very competitive in every game, we want to finish as high as we can.
“We are a good side, we believe that. We work hard, we’ve got good processes, we’ve got good players and a good way of working. So, we believe we’re very well equipped for the level and where that takes us we don’t know, but we know we’re in good form and we know we’re a good side.
“I’m not naïve and I’m not delusional. I say what I see, I’m like Roy Walker. So, if we’re a good side, I tell our players because I believe it. There is no one in this league that are streets ahead of us in any way shape or form, so we know we’re going to be competitive if we’re at the levels which we demand.”
IFOLLOW HATTERS SUBSCRIBERS CAN SEE THE PRESS CONFERENCE IN FULL BY CLICKING THE IMAGE AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE