Mick Harford has returned to his assistant manager role after completing his course of treatment for prostate cancer before Christmas – and he will be joined in Luton’s backroom by former captain Alan Sheehan who will become first-team coach after hanging up his boots.
The news will be a big boost to the club who are preparing to face Harrogate Town in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, having not played since December 11 due to a Christmas outbreak of Covid in the camp.
Harford stepped back from his role as boss Nathan Jones’ right hand man in August to undergo radiotherapy treatment and the manager said: “We are delighted to have Mick back. He is a massive part of the culture and the environment here. Mick and I always spoke about his return, when it would be and it had to be when he felt right.
“Having done a few days and kept his hand in, he’s just felt really comfortable and he really feels that now is the right time. It’s great to have him back and he’s had an instant impact this week. Everyone is delighted, obviously and it’s a big thing to have him back at the helm with us.
“The fans have been wonderful and sung his name at every game he’s been absent this season, so I know they’ll be excited and get right behind Mick and the team. It’ll be great to have him back in and around on a matchday and I know he’ll get the ovation he thoroughly deserves on Sunday.”
Sheehan was Jones’ first signing as Town boss, joining initially on loan from Bradford City in January 2016, before the move was made permanent that summer.
His capture was key in the manager’s desire to change the team’s style of play, and the Irishman would go onto make 135 appearances while captaining the side to back-to-back promotions.
He left the Hatters on transfer deadline day in January 2019 and had a brief spell playing for Lincoln City before gaining first team coaching experience at Northampton Town and Oldham.
“We are delighted to welcome Sheez back,” Jones told the club’s website. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and it’s something we like here, with the continuity.
“We’ve brought him in because we believe he’s a good coach and he’ll get even better. He’s hungry and wants to learn, and the most important thing is that he knows us, he knows our environment, he’s earned the opportunity by being a wonderful player for us, a fantastic captain and also a fantastic human being, and we believe that with further learning – because he’s had about a year of being a first team coach – he can be a fantastic asset to us.
“We don’t ever make these decisions lightly. We always do real homework. We don’t ever do this on sentiment, but we felt it was the right time to add someone to the environment and develop another coach, with Chris Cohen’s role really enhancing.
“We are giving Chris more responsibility all the time due to his outstanding contribution since he joined us from Nottingham Forest early last season, and we felt that we needed to take a few things off him in terms of supplementary coaching, but we needed to get the right one in.
“Again, I know the fans will be excited because Sheez was so popular as a player and contributed so much to our success. It’s a real boost for everyone to have Mick and Sheez back to work alongside the outstanding coaches we already have.”
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