Former Luton Town manager Mick Harford has sent a message to Hatters' striker James Collin after he scored a special midweek goal.

In a friendly with Bulgaria, the 28-year-old netted his first goal for the Republic of Ireland national team, on his debut as well, and Harford was quick to send him his best wishes.

Writing on Twitter, Harford said: "Congratulations to Collo, on his international debut and capping it with a proper centre forwards goal. Brilliant Collo."

Last season saw Collins net 25 goals in League One as Harford guided the club to promotion and the third-tier title.

After Nathan Jones opted to leave the club for Stoke City during the January transfer window, Harford stepped into the dug-out to see out the remainder of the campaign, which he did with aplomb.

Now managed by Graeme Jones, Luton have made a decent start to life back in the Championship, currently sitting in 15th place with six games played, with Collins scoring three already.

This weekend sees them travel to QPR as they look to make it three wins in a row in the second-tier.

The verdict

It is easy to see why Harford was able to slot into the manager's job so smoothly last season.

He clearly had a brilliant raport with the players and you can only imagine that bred plenty of confidence and respect from the likes of Collins.

Jones leaving could have easily derailed their promotion push but the fact he didn't is a real credit to Harford and he has to be credited with a large part of Collins' continued personal progression.