Hatter boss Nathan Jones was ‘bitterly disappointed’ with his side's 5-0 defeat to Reading this afternoon but was keen to explain how hard the players have been working since his return.
After picking up five points from the first three matches, a first defeat in seven league games leaves the Town five points adrift of safety in the Sky Bet Championship, but Jones is still fully behind his players.
Asked whether he saw the result coming, he said: “No, but it's understandable and I'm not trying to make excuses for them in any way, shape or form.
"I’m bitterly disappointed, because I didn’t see that coming. But that was out of character because how we’ve been in the last three games, we have been excellent.
"Today just seemed a game too far. The energy levels, decision making - they looked tired. Some of the goals conceded were just fatigue, [lack of] sharpness, losing our individual battles.
"It’s a good group that works hard, so what we have to do now is make sure we put this game behind us because Tuesday is another day. We can’t dwell on it, they will learn from it and react.
“They have all rotated. Harry put in a big shift second half (Tuesday) and he had to do that again today. Sonny hasn’t trained, but had a late fitness test.
"All these things add up, it’s unprecedented. When you go to Swansea away who are a very good side, then you have to go to Leeds away three days later and then go again, it doesn’t half take it out of you. What we’ve got to make sure now is we recover well, because Tuesday is a massive game.”