Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu opened the scoring with a lovely, curling effort into the top right corner, before Harry Cornick fired past Daniel Bentley to make it 2-0 to the hosts.

Ashley Williams put the ball past his own keeper in the dying moments to secure the result, which moves the Hatters up to 16th in the Championship.

Jones said: “I think that’s four months’ work for the players and staff, and that was the exhibition of four months work, the evidence. I think the tactical aspect is one thing and then the application and the courage and the character of the players to execute it was really, really satisfying.

“I am especially pleased for Sonny Bradley and Matty Pearson, who have been thrown more challenges, more demands by me than any other players at the football club and they have stood up to it. They have showed courage, they have responded always, it has been really difficult for them at times and then when you eventually break through those barriers you grow as players and I think you can see that. I think the two boys were getting more and more frustrated at not getting a clean sheet. But with the greatest respect we haven’t had a defensive midfield player out on the pitch for two months and I think that was a key factor today.

“Martin gives you great flexibility, so there’s two shapes in that system, that’s the first time I have been able to do that, if you remember, Martin was playing right-back for us, and then we signed Luke Bolton and James Bree after Martin got injured, so it gives you great flexibility, as does Glen Rea. It was just a pity that both of them were injured at the same time, so now we are benefiting from that option.”