Matt Bloomfield appointed

A step onto the other side

He hated playing at the Kenny as a player but now new boss can't wait to be in the Town dugout

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The heritage and history of Luton Town played a major role in persuading Matt Bloomfield to sign a three-and-a-half-year contract to become our new manager.

The 40-year-old played five times for former club Wycombe at the Kenny in three different divisions, scoring once in the Chairboys’ 3-1 defeat to the Hatters in September 2016.

And now after watching the Town’s journey from non-league to the Premier League, Bloomfield can’t wait to be on the ‘right’ side of things from the dugout.

“I think the heritage of the football club was one of the things that interested me,” said the new boss.

“I’ve had some real big battles here over the years, especially against Nathan Jones’s team.

“I absolutely hated coming here as a player. Genuinely hated coming here because the atmosphere was fierce and the pitch was tight. We had some real tough moments here.

“So that kind of feeds into that – wanting to be on the other side, wanting to join the football club and have those fans back me rather than against me. It’s really exciting for me to have those guys on my side.

“The atmosphere that they create and the togetherness that this club stands for, the hard work, the work rate and the team ethics that Luton Town stands for really resonates with me.

“All those bits that go together and the long-term project are really exciting. To have the new ground a couple of years away, the progression the club’s made over the previous few years makes it all very, very exciting.”

Bloomfield brings coaches Richard Thomas and Lee Harrison and analyst Ben Cirne with him to Kenilworth Road.

But Bloomfield is looking forward to working alongside members of the Hatters’ existing staff, including coaches Kevin Pilkington and Kevin Foley and analysts Simon Dunn and Chloe Golding.

“I want to embrace the staff that we’ve already got and integrate ourselves with them,” said Bloomfield.

“It's not about us being a separate entity. It’s about the football club as a whole. It sounds a little bit cliché, and I apologise for that, but it takes a whole football club to win football matches.

“It's not just something that 11 players can go out on a pitch and do. It takes a whole football club, board of directors, chief exec, staff, fans, players.

“Everybody around the football club have to build into it and buy into it and move the place forward and that's something I love doing. I love people. I love people working with people and collaborating and building a strong unit.

“That's what really gets my juices going so I'm really looking forward to doing that here.”

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