Luton Town Football Club is delighted to announce that manager Nathan Jones has signed a new long-term contract with the Hatters, taking him through to the end of the 2026-27 campaign.
The 48-year-old has put pen to paper on an extension totalling a five-and-a-half-year deal that will take him past the tenth anniversary of his initial appointment as Hatters boss in January 2016.
Nathan took charge of the Town for the 250th time in the recent goalless draw at Nottingham Forest, with his team well positioned in mid-table in the Championship and firmly in play-off contention. His first game was also a 0-0 draw, against Cambridge United, which finished with the team he had inherited 18th in League Two.
The progress the Club has made through the EFL over Nathan’s two spells in charge is there for all to see, with two promotional seasons – the second, of course, completed by his great friend and current assistant Mick Harford – a Great Escape and the Town’s highest league finish since 2005-06.
He not only has the target of improving on that 12th place this season but has made clear his desire to break his former manager David Pleat’s record of 609 matches in charge of the Club over his two spells, with this new contract set to see him lead the Hatters into Power Court.
The Welshman has that, and the Premier League, in his sights, telling lutontown.co.uk: “I feel very proud to be offered this new contract, with the length and everything that it offers me.
“I’m so proud to manage this fantastic club, but also of the fact that I’m the one entrusted to take it on to the next phase. We have been on a journey since 2016, and to be entrusted with the phases of the development here in a town and community that I love, I feel so humbled.
“I think we are in a wonderful place, and we know where we want to get to. We know all the things that need to happen along the way for that to happen, and we are in a real good stage of that. I would love to be at the forefront of taking us to the Premier League, which is something that we believe is more than realistic.
“To do that a lot of things have to happen, but we’ve got a lot of continuity here, a real good structure and processes in everything we do. With that and our constant development, the Premier League is what we want to achieve.
“The new stadium is going to be fundamental to that, and it would be a dream for me to lead the club into Power Court.”
As well as rebuilding his special relationship with supporters since returning to Bedfordshire in May 2020, Nathan has always shown an interest and got involved in as many different areas of the Club as possible.
He added: “I want to thank everyone at the club for welcoming me the first time, and obviously the second time. I’d like to thank the fans for the special relationship that I have with them, and I think we are back in a wonderfully good place. I had it before, and we’ve worked hard to get that back.
“I’ve got a number of special relationships at the football club with the key people in all of the departments, and I’d like to thank them for their continued work from recruitment to finance, media to admin, groundsmen and maintenance – everyone at the club that I work together with.
“My key relationship with the decision makers at the club is fundamental to everything, so I thank the board for trusting me with being manager of this wonderful football club and wanting me to do that for the foreseeable future.
“And of course, none more so than Gary, who I’ve had a real strong relationship with. It’s an honest, open, trusting relationship, but it’s one that’s at the forefront of doing great work for Luton Town.
“One thing that runs through both of our blood is that we want to make Luton great. At times that consumes us, at times it’s detrimental to our families, but it’s a common goal we have and I’m so proud to be able to continue that work.”
Town CEO Gary Sweet added: “On behalf of the board, who have been wholeheartedly and unanimously supportive of this decision, I would like to thank Nathan on his commitment to Luton Town and in dedicating his long-term future to the Club.
“His energy, drive, passion, intellect and enthusiasm make him a very special character who we feel lucky to have at the helm and which makes him a genuine pleasure to work with.
“It’s rare for a Club and manager to have such a progressive and harmonious bond. Sometimes you must recognise when that bond is positively unique for both parties and make sure it’s safeguarded.
“The Club currently sits on the precipice of an ambitious elevation of fortunes. With Power Court progressing soundly, a great squad of talented and respectable lads capable of the next step, supported by a superb team of technical staff – all of whom help develop the unique culture that sets us apart.
“Nathan has been a key part of nurturing that and I’m more than delighted that he will continue that journey and walk our team out in a new stadium.”
