Luton Town: Nathan Jones was proved right by “first-class” signing: View
Nathan Jones made a big impact throughout his time in charge at Luton Town, even from the moment he first took over – James Collins was a big part of that over a certain period.
When the Welshman was appointed in January 2016, the Hatters sat 15th in the League Two table, 11 points clear of the relegation zone.
They were, though, in a worrying run of form, having won just one of their last nine games in all competitions.
Jones, though, was able to quickly engineer a turnaround in form, with Luton winning 11 and drawing three of the 21 league games they played under him at the end of 2015/16.
That allowed the club to secure a comfortable 11th place finish in the final League Two standings at the end of that campaign.
The following campaign then saw Jones take the club into the fourth-tier play-offs, only to miss out on promotion after a dramatic 6-5 aggregate defeat to Blackpool in the semi-finals.
With Luton keen to go one better the following campaign, Jones would bring 11 new players into the squad during the 2017 summer transfer window.
One of those signings who the Hatters boss certainly expected to make an impact at that level, was Collins.
Nathan Jones had high hopes for his new striker
When he arrived at Luton in June 2017, Collins brought with him a big reputation at League Two level.
The striker had already won three promotions from League Two, twice with Shrewsbury Town and once with Northampton Town.
Meanwhile, the season before his move to Kenilworth Road, he had scored 22 goals in 52 appearances in all competitions for a Crawley Town side that had finished 19th in the fourth-tier.
Not surprisingly, Jones was therefore delighted to have secured the services of the Irishman for Luton.
Reacting to the news of this signing, the Hatters boss described Collins as a “proven striker” at the level, while also calling his efforts for Crawley the season before “first-class”.
Jones, therefore, will have been hoping for a big impact from the striker, and Luton would certainly get that from him for a number of years after his arrival at Kenilworth Road.
James Collins was a prolific goalscorer for Luton Town
Having completed that move to his new side, Collins would waste no time at all in making an impact for his new club.
His competitive debut for the Hatters saw the striker net a hat-trick in an 8-2 thrashing of Yeovil Town on the opening day of the 2017/18 campaign.
From there, Collins would hardly look back, scoring 19 goals in 42 league games that season, including winning goals against the likes of Wycombe – in the 98th minute – and Grimsby.
Those contributions would prove vital as Luton did indeed go one better during the 2017/18 season, claiming a second place finish that secured them automatic promotion to League One.
