Luton Town chairman David Wilkinson says the club has already begun the process of reviewing and rebuilding following Saturday’s 5-3 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, which confirmed the Hatters’ relegation to League One that has “hurt like no other”.
In a statement released by the club after what he described as a “long weekend of deep reflection”, Wilkinson said he wanted to express the board’s “collective frustration, anger and disappointment at how the season has ended”.
“It was not the outcome any of us envisaged at the start of the season after the heights we have scaled in our 17 years together,” he said.
The drop to League One marks Luton’s second successive relegation, following last season’s fall from the Premier League – making them only the fourth club in history to suffer such a double blow.
While acknowledging that Saturday’s defeat and the season overall had left fans hurting, Wilkinson said: “We have all seen the ups and downs, and as bad as Saturday seems right now, there have been darker days, from which we fought back and went on to make history.
“We know that won’t count for much in the moment, while relegation feels so raw to us all. This weekend has hurt us like no other. We are custodians of our club but supporters first, who care passionately about our footballing fortunes and misfortunes.”
Wilkinson admitted that mistakes had been made both on and off the pitch and said the club’s leadership must also be held accountable.
“We are all accountable and recognise that errors have been made off the pitch, just as they have been on it, to contribute to that end result,” he said. “We are all so truly sorry the season has finished as it has.”
Despite relegation only being confirmed on the final day, Wilkinson revealed that work to understand and address the club’s shortcomings had already begun before Saturday’s trip to The Hawthorns.
“The in-depth analysis started before relegation was confirmed, as individuals and as a club, as we set about working harder and more effectively to build on the run of form that, before Saturday’s defeat, had put us in with such a chance of survival,” he said.
“All we can promise, at this moment, is that we will review, regroup and rebuild. Indeed, this has started. We must recover the spirit that was so familiar to us on our rise, and we will use this now as a catalyst for a renewed determination and focus to achieve one objective.”
Meetings have already taken place with manager Matt Bloomfield and his staff, Wilkinson confirmed, with the aim of reshaping the squad into “a proper Luton team we can all be proud to watch next season”.
He added: “No stone will go unturned as we review and prepare for the 2025/26 season, hopefully with fresh optimism and renewed vigour.”
Wilkinson closed his message with thanks to the supporters for sticking with the team through what he acknowledged was a “difficult season”, and vowed: “We hope this can be repaid to you upon our return.”
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