Job well done - Interview Thursday, 6th May 2021 18:20 by Clive Whittingham Despite having little to play for Luton Town are finishing the campaign strongly, cementing a year of excellent progress made under Nathan Jones after 2019/20’s last gasp relegation escape - @LutonTownFans gave their assessment… How would you assess Luton's season overall? It’s been a very good season for us. I think most Luton fans realistic expectations were to finish higher than last year (19th), but that avoiding relegation was the most important target. So to be guaranteed a top half finish with our highest points total at this level since we won the league back in 1982 is quite some achievement given our very limited resources compared to others in the Championship. Luton league results so far… Actually in pretty decent form despite little to play for, any particular reasons for the strong finish? I think it’s a sign of the character of the squad and manager. They wanted to prove they can finish in the top half of the table, so whilst many mid-table sides don’t care too much once the play-offs are out-of-sight, we’ve always had a more modest target and don’t have any egos that get disinterested. Opinion of the job Nathan Jones has done? He’s done brilliantly since his return. We’ve pretty much got a bottom three budget in this league, but between players and the board everything just seems to click for him at Luton. I think his experience at Stoke was a learning curve that we are only benefitting from, especially at this level. Player of the year candidates? Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (on loan from Leicester) will win this award with ease I expect. He’s a superb midfield player who is very comfortable on the ball and can create chances and he has also embraced being at Luton, which is always nice to see from an on loan player. I expect him to go on and play in the Premier League for many years and it’ll certainly be very difficult for us to replace his quality next year. Summer Ins >>> James Bree, 22, RB, Villa, Undisclosed >>> Joe Morrell, 23, CM, Bristol City, Undisclosed >>> Tom Lockyer, 25, CB, Charlton, Free >>> Jordan Clark, 26, RW, Accrington, Free >>> Gabriel Osho, 22, CB, Reading, Free >>> Dion Pereira, 21, CM, Atlanta, Free >>> Rhys Norrington-Davies, LB, 21, Sheff Utd, Loan >>> Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 22, Leicester, Loan>>> Sam Nombe, 21, CF, MK Dons, Loan Summer Outs >>> Marek Stech, 30, GK, Mansfield, Free >>> Frankie Musonda,22, CB, Raith Rovers, Free >>> Jake Jervis, 28, RW, Seinajoki (Finland), Free >>> Donervon Daniels, 26, CB, Crewe, Free >>> Lloyd Jones, 24, CB, Released >>> Jacob Butterfield 30, CM, Released >>> Callum McManaman, 29, RW, Released >>> Harry Isted, 23, GK, Wealdstone, Loan >>> Tiernan Parker, 19, GK, Hitchin, Loan >>> Gabriel Osho, 22, CB, Yeovil, Loan >>> Josh Neufville, 19, CF, Yeovil, Loan >>> Peter Kioso, 21, RB, Bolton, Loan >>> Andrew Shinnie, 31, CM, Charlton, Loan Winter Ins >>> Elijah Adebayo, 23, CF, Walsall, Undisclosed >>> Kal Naismith, 29, MF, Wigan, Free >>> Tom Ince 29, RW, Stoke, Loan Winter Outs >>> Harvey Isted, 24, GK, Wealdstone, Loan >>> Peter Kioso, 21, RB, Northampton, Loan Weak links in the side? The side is very much a team of equals for the most part who all work hard for each other, so individual wise there’s not really any one person or position I could pinpoint. Collectively however it is obvious that our main problem is that bit of quality in the final third, as we struggle to score goals with only 40 goals this season and 19 matches where we’ve failed to score. Does this recent run of form give you confidence for better things next season? What are your hopes and expectations? I think our recruitment will be key to next season. As I said above, replacing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be very hard, but also a lot of the players who have established themselves at Championship level are out of contract and may now be able to get a better payday elsewhere. On the flip side there are some players who haven’t made their mark at this level who will be moved out and hopefully players with more quality and potential can come in. Elijah Adebayo (signed in January) is an example of this and is proving to be a handful for opposition defenders already. I know Nathan Jones’ target will be to try and improve on this year’s league position as progression is key for him and since he first joined the club in League 2 in 2016 we’ve progressed and finished higher than in the previous season, so he’ll want that trend to continue. Links >>> Luton Town official website >>> Hatters News — Blog >>> Luton Outlaws — Message Board >>> Supporters Trust The Twitter @LutonTownFans, @loftforwords Pictures — Action Images Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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