Matt Bloomfield insists Luton Town must embrace the pressure of being League One promotion favourites after back-to-back relegations.
Town begin their third tier campaign tonight at home to newly-promoted AFC Wimbledon, and, though bookmakers have Town as title contenders, Bloomfield says the outside expectation is irrelevant.
“What people are betting on, what they’re saying, what they’re doing is none of my business, nothing I can affect,” he told a media conference. “All we have to do is focus on the work we’re undertaking, work in a manner that we believe can get success, and evolve the group as quickly as we can.”
Bloomfield believes the summer overhaul, which has seen eight signings arrive and ten of last term’s first-team squad leave, was “a necessary evil” following two difficult years ending in back-to-back relegations.
“It’s been a blessing and a curse. A curse to lose some really good players, but a blessing to evolve into a group that’s starting to move to where we want to get it,” Bloomfield said.
He stressed that pressure is something to embrace, saying: “It’s what we love, right? It’s the driver that gets inside our system – football, chasing those highs, chasing those results. Once you get inside it, you can’t put it down.”
On tonight’s opener, Bloomfield added: “We’re going to feel all those emotions – excitement, nerves, apprehension. We’re really looking forward to getting going.”
