Luton Town have kept their hopes of staying in the Championship alive in recent weeks, picking up three wins in their last five matches.

Nonetheless, they remain bottom of the table and five points adrift of safety with just 10 games to play. Therefore, it is imperative that they begin picking up wins as soon as possible, starting by targeting Saturday's vital clash with immediate rivals Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.

With Stoke City, Charlton Athletic, Hull City and Huddersfield Town all in danger, Luton can still force their way out of trouble, but it will be dependent on them continuing their run of good form.

Here, we assess the three issues manager Graeme Jones must sort if Luton are to remain in the division...

Defensive instability

Conceding goals has been a real issue for Luton all season and Jones' side currently possess the most leaky defence in the league.

With 71 goals conceded in 36 matches, they have simply been too open at the back and have kept just three clean sheets all season.

However, two of them have come during their last five games and with Simon Sluga having nailed down the starting jersey, things are looking up.

In Cameron Carter-Vickers and Matty Pearson, Jones also seems to have settled on a regular centre-back pairing, with the two averaging more clearances per 90, 4.5, than anyone else in the squad.

Building on the progress this partnership has made could be a big step forward.

Lack of goals from midfield

Luton's strike partnership of James Collins and Harry Cornick have put in a noble effort this season, scoring 19 goals and providing six assists between them.

While their partnership will have pleased Jones, Luton have been over-reliant with the duo providing more than 44% of the side's goals.

Jones will need the likes of Callum McManaman, Kazenga LuaLua, George Moncur, Jacob Butterfield and Isiah Brown to contribute more often if Luton are to stay up, with many of their players displaying their ability to score on a regular basis in the past.

Formation stagnation

Luton have been known for their 4-4-2 diamond formation since the Nathan Jones era, but it is a formation that has shortcomings.

The obvious issue is the lack of width it can lead to, with a large onus placed on the full-backs to get forward and act as auxiliary wing-backs or wingers.

However, a 33-year-old Martin Cranie at left-back is not necessarily suited to such a role and a move away from this formation towards a setup with wingers could help create more chances.

Brown, McManaman and LuaLua can all play in such a system and it could be that a shift in formation helps to get more out of Luton's talented, but under-performing, group of attackers.