Luton Town must thank Nathan Jones for signing "first class" 72-goal striker | OneFootball

Nathan Jones hit the jackpot with James Collins - an integral part of their back-to-back promotions to the Championship

Nathan Jones' first full season at Luton Town resulted in League Two play-off heartbreak, losing to Blackpool in the semi-finals following a fourth-placed finish.

The Hatters lost just nine games throughout 2016/17 - a league lowest - and Jones was adamant that his side needed to kill games off in the following season to achieve their goal of promotion.

Therefore, Jones looked to bring in serial winners and players who wouldn't let up on their road to League Two promotion in the 2017/18 season. One of these signings was Crawley Town striker James Collins, who netted 20 times as he helped Crawley beat the League Two drop by five points the season prior.

Jones described Collins as "first class," and the Irishman was quick to show his class to Luton Town fans as he became the talisman who led the line at the beginning of the road which culminated in Premier League promotion in 2023.

Free-scoring James Collins helped Luton Town to improbable promotion achievement

Luton Town boss Nathan Jones wanted his side to be less naive and more ruthless in games in the 2017/18 season after falling short in the play-offs despite a solid campaign in the season prior.

He told Luton Today prior to the season starting that: "This year we can't have excuses, can't have that nativity about us, can't allow teams to nick draws and cost us our ultimate goal."

The Hatters showed the ruthlessness with which Nathan Jones wanted his side to play immediately, putting eight past Yeovil Town on the opening day of the season, with new signing James Collins showing exactly what he was going to bring to Kenilworth Road, bagging a hat-trick and assisting a further two.

Collins would net 19 times throughout the league season as well as provide 10 assists, sitting atop the team stats in both categories and in the top six throughout the entire league for both too.

However, his best season for the club came during his sophomore campaign, as he won League One's Player of the Season, scoring a league-best 25 goals, which helped Luton Town win League One.

In two seasons at the club, James Collins achieved back-to-back promotions. Luton became only the fifth side to go back-to-back from League Two to the Championship since 2000, and no side has been able to do it since.

Their meteoric rise meant that all eyes were on Luton Town ahead of the 2019/20 Championship season, and especially on James Collins, who was ready to embark on his first season in the second tier after scoring a total of 44 goals across both promotion campaigns.

James Collins proved potent in the Championship

Although not at the heights of which Luton fans saw the prior two seasons, James Collins was still scoring at a decent level in the Championship.

He netted 14 on 14 separate occasions in the Hatters' first season back in the Championship to help the side escape immediate relegation back to League One before scoring 10 in the 2020/21 Championship season, which provided a more stable 12th-placed finish.

It was at the end of the 2020/21 season when James Collins would seek new pastures, declining a new contract offer at Luton to join fellow Championship side Cardiff City.

He departed Luton Town with four double-digit goal returns in as many seasons, bagging 72 in 183 games for the Hatters across the four years he enjoyed at Kenilworth Road.

Plenty of Luton fans still regard him as a hero and do not doubt that he was indeed "first class" whilst leading the line at the club. Luton Town have a lot to thank Nathan Jones for, but near the top of that list is his role in bringing James Collins to the club back in 2017.